


Somewhere Between Love And Loss

by TrashficParlour



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Broken Bones, Demon Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Demon Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Demon Deceit | Janus Sanders, Demons, Dogs, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Fluff, Fictional Religion & Theology, Fights, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gods, Humor, M/M, Minor Injuries, Mountains, Prince Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Prince Morality | Patton Sanders, Prince Sleep | Remy Sanders, Princes & Princesses, Remy Patton & Virgil are brothers, Remy is the oldest and Patton is the youngest, Slice of Life, Spears, Stabbing, With the spear but its minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25668847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashficParlour/pseuds/TrashficParlour
Summary: When a hike goes wrong, you might find that fate has more in store for you than what you could ever anticipate. Virgil learned that the hard way, when a near death experience lands him with two demons, one of them charmingly unpredictable. Well, fate certainly has a lot more planned for Virgil than he was prepared for.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	1. The Start Of Something New

The Kingdom of Sicuning. A proud kingdom, born from the ashes of a years long war, home of the Sawyer clan. Three princes and their father, the King, ruled the kingdom with kindness and mercy. Beloved by their subjects, respected by the neighboring kingdoms. It was prospering, as were its inhabitants. Happiness rang mutually throughout. Well, almost mutually. One of the princes, Virgil, did not feel the same drive of joy and content as the majority of his very own kingdom did. He wanted more. This simply wasn’t enough. He would take a break, a hike through the nearby mountains. To the valley behind, for a change of scenery, a breath of fresh air.

The path through the mountains wasn’t an easy trail to follow. Strong winds and storms howled around the mountain tops, cold and snow hindering the way no matter the season. Myths spoke of demons living in the caves, haunting every traveller stupid enough to choose the path through the dangerous rocky landscape. Virgil was well aware of that fact, but it didn’t deter him. Neither did his brother’s pleas to reconsider the journey.

 _“I need space,” he had huffed, and pushed past Patton to grab his bags. “It will only be a three day journey. I will send a message once I reach the valley.”_ Patton had definitely not been convinced about the safety of said trip, and not even Remy was able to stir Virgil away from his endeavour. Unable to accompany Virgil on his trip, both because Virgil refused to have them come along, and due to their duties, they just wished him safe travel, as hard as the goodbye was.

Now, Virgil knew the journey wouldn’t be easy. He had figured he’d be held up on his way over the mountains. What he _hadn’t_ been expecting however was the winds being harsh enough to push a boulder down the path he was walking on. He didn’t have enough time to get out of the way (let alone space, the paths were very narrow), and got one of his legs trapped underneath it. He couldn’t really feel it anymore aside from a sharp pain, and he wasn’t nearly strong enough to push it off. Frantically he looked around for any sign of other people, help, anything. He saw nothing and felt panic rise up inside him. He was screwed. He was as good as dead. He had ventured too far up the mountain to just get back with his injured leg, let alone remove the boulder, and the valley was still half a day’s walk away. He tried to cry out for help, scream, but the winds made any attempts futile, too loud to let any noise through. This was it.

———

Remus’ life was rather boring. His domain was the mountains and the people feared the mountains. Barely any ventured far enough for him to have someone to entertain himself with. Of course, there were the mountain priests, but those were rarely fun. Especially as they lived at the foot of the mountain and were the ones that warned travellers of both the dangerous weather as well as his and Darion’s presence. If he hadn’t promised the local goddess not to harm them he would have eaten them by now. But he didn’t fancy feeling the wrath of a pissed off Iberegha and certainly didn’t want to be put on trial for it. Even if Darion often questioned it, he _did_ have at least a modicum of common sense and challenging heaven was not a smart thing to do.

Oh, but where were his manners? He hadn’t even introduced himself! Remus was one of the two demons that inhabited (or if you believed the monks and priests: haunted) the mountains, the other being his companion Darion. The two lived a mostly okay life, although, as mentioned before, a boring one. Feeding off of humans that came by, scaring them, or otherwise engaging with them just didn’t work as well when barely any made the voyage through the treacherous mountaintops. 

“This BLOWS!” Remus exclaimed with a huff, crossing his arms and pouting, floating up to the ceiling of their living room. Another boring day in another boring life, and he was _sick_ of it. Darion, who at this point was already used to Remus’ drama, just rolled his eyes as he watched his friend float around. 

“You say that everyday ‘Mus,” Darion said, shifting his attention back to his book. “Maybe one of these days you’ll find yourself a hobby so you can quit your whining.” A small smirk made its way onto his face at Remus’ offended gasp. “I am right and you know it.”

Remus scoffed. “Oh sorry Mister ‘Peace and quiet’ that I crave more from life than books and boccia.” “You don’t even know how to play boccia.” “Yeah because it’s _boring_!” To get his point across he threw his hands into the air and did some wild gesticulation that Darion didn’t grace with a single look.

Remus huffed and was about to argue further, stopping however when he sensed a presence. There was someone coming up the path! Oh this would be so much fun, he hadn’t met a person in months! With a giant grin he turned to his companion. “Darion there’s a human!” 

Darion seemed less impressed by that notion, giving a disinterested noise. 

“Probably just a monk or something. A few have recently come up here to gather fruit. You know our apples are ripe earlier than theirs.”

“At least _TRY_ to humor me,” Remus groaned crossing his arms with a huff. “Ain’t ya got no whimsy in your heart? Whatever. I will go and check out this human visitor. Maybe mess with them. Or eat them!” With that he floated outside, leaving Darion rolling his eyes and staying behind.

Remus was definitely excited at the prospect of _someone_ scaling the mountain. He hadn’t had a new toy in ages! His strategy was to frighten the human, maybe rob them. It depended on what sort of human he was dealing with. If it was just a child, he’d let them pass with a minor fright. He might be a demon but he wasn’t _that_ evil! His plans pretty much evaporated when he saw the human he had sensed. Trapped underneath a boulder, very obviously terrified, and he huffed. Frightening a human that was already terrified simply was no fun. Torture was boring if the person's spirit had been broken previously. Maybe he’d just eat them.

Remus floated closer to observe and noticed the robes the guy was wearing. They looked way more expensive than anything the other humans that passed by wore. Was he nobility, possibly? Then why was he travelling alone? Remus had to admit that the longing for someone new to talk to overtook the desire to frighten or feast. He didn’t _need_ to eat humans anyway. 

He was debating whether or not he should disguise himself. Maybe it would make it easier to talk to the human that way without scaring them too much. Then again, only a superhuman or similar could lift the boulder anyway, and Remus didn’t like disguising himself, so he decided against it. “Greetings human,” he grinned as he floated into the person’s line of sight. 

“Need a hand?”

-

Virgil’s eyes widened in panic when he saw the creature standing above him. Surely that wasn’t- No, no way that- The horns, the wings, the sharp teeth, the glowing eyes- A demon, a fucking _demon_. The monks didn’t lie. “Please don’t hurt me-” He tried, his terror very much present in his voice. He was going to die. He would die. He should have visited Sansemanus’ prayer site more often, maybe he would have been merciful with him.

The demon laughed at his trouble and Virgil began shaking harder. He was dead. He was fucking dead. He started crying, because what else was left to do? He would never see his family again. He didn’t heed their warnings and this was the price he paid for it. He-

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you.” The demon’s layered voice rang through the strong winds and Virgil froze. “H-huh?”

He let out a terrified sound when the boulder was lifted off his leg. Testingly he moved it, immediately hissing in pain. Well, at least he could still _feel_ it. It didn’t feel very promising, but… it was something. Looking back at the demon’s face, he could see him grinning. It didn’t look malicious, it looked… playful? Then again Virgil was never good at reading people, so what did he know? 

“What are you gonna do with me?” Virgil asked, trying to back away which, admittedly, didn’t work very well. 

“Take you back to my house and get you back to health! It’s been so long since we’ve had someone new to play with!” “P-play?” The demon nodded quickly. 

“Yes! It’s so boring here!” 

Promptly, Virgil was picked up and he let out a yelp in surprise, immediately clinging to the demon, who had already begun rambling about how much fun it would be to have a new friend.

“Oh- I didn’t even say who I am! I’m Remus!” The de- _Remus_ giggled, before eyeing Virgil curiously. “What about you, are you gonna tell me your name?”

Virgil hesitated. Should he? Surely nothing good would come from that, right? He shrugged, cautious. He didn’t want to anger the demon, because, you know, demon. But he also didn’t want the demon to play any weird tricks with him. As if he could read Virgil’s mind (oh god, what if he could? How do you protect your thoughts? Virgil definitely didn't know), Remus snickered. 

“I’m not fae, I can’t, like, steal your name or anything. I _could_ drop you off that cliff though!” “You won’t though, right?” Virgil asked, eyes widening a little. Remus giggled and shook his head. “Nope! I’m not gonna drop the company I was in dire need of down a mountain, silly.”

Needless to say, this was not the way Virgil had planned any of this to go.

Meanwhile, Darion had been watching the interaction from afar, intrigued. He wasn’t the type to go out and scare humans honestly, that was more Remus’ thing. He just wanted to live his secluded mountain life with his best friend, devoid of any disturbances or threats, but of course that was too boring for Remus. He wanted adventure and new things every day. Silently, Darion wondered why Remus was still here in the mountains with him, and part of him hoped it was because he liked being around him. He figured that it was, but still. It would be nice to hear it from the other from time to time, thank you very much. He was waiting at the door of their cottage when Remus approached, stepping aside so the other could enter. 

“That the human you were talking about?” Darion asked with a hum, floating around as he watched the two. Remus giggled and nodded. “Yep! He’s a little injured but that just means he’ll have to stay here while he heals!” With that, the demon put Virgil down on the couch. Darion could see how terrified the human was, taking pity on him. 

“Where are you hurt?” He asked, voice low and soft as not to scare him further. 

“Um- my leg-” Virgil stammered, trying to extend the leg that was injured, immediately hissing in pain. It took a lot out of Darion not to roll his eyes at that. Instead he just shook his head slightly and reached for the leg, stopping before he touched it. 

“May I?” 

At Virgil’s nod, Darion wrapped his hands around Virgil’s leg. He knew a little healing magic. Definitely not enough for an instantaneous heal, but enough to significantly speed up the healing process. A soft glow emitted from his hands and wrapped around Virgil’s leg for a brief moment before it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. The way the human gawked at that definitely made it worth for Darion.

Satisfied, Darion let go of Virgil’s leg and stood back up. “Your leg should be healed in a few days. Don’t strain it too much, so I suggest you will stay here on this couch for most of the time.” Virgil looked ready to argue but kept his mouth shut and nodded instead. Darion hummed. “What’s your name?”

Virgil looked between the two demons, Remus grinning in excitement at the prospect of hearing his name and sighed. 

“It’s Virgil.” 

Remus gasped loudly at that, obviously very enthused about the whole thing. Darion rolled his eyes before smiling at Virgil. “That’s a nice name,” he hummed. “I’m Darion, and I’m sure that fool over there-” he pointed at Remus who gasped in mock-offense, “-has already introduced himself to you, but in case he hasn’t, that’s Remus. We are the demons who ‘haunt’ this place.” The word haunt was accompanied by air quotes. “Honestly, we are just trying to live our life here. Or, well, I am. Remus gets up to all kinds of shenanigans when he can, but that is none of my business.” 

Before Virgil could get out any sort of response to that, Remus had already crashed on the couch next to him, giving him a wide grin. 

“What about you? What brings you to these oh-so dangerous mountains, huh? And what’s up with your fancy robes? You some kind of nobility or something?”

Virgil huffed at that. 

“I’m a prince, if you need to know. Not that it matters, because I’m not here for any royal business or whatever. I just needed to get away from home for a little. Day in day out it’s the same. Duties, work, socialize, repeat. I am _sick_ of it.” He crossed his arms. “I just wanted to go to the valley on the other side. See something new. My brothers warned me about the mountain path and told me to take a ferry instead, but I thought this would be quicker. Didn’t really work out too well, as you can see.”

“You aren’t the first one that fell trap to that sort of thinking. Not many people are stupid enough to wander up here, but typically none that do survive. Most die before even getting as far as you do. The winds are dangerous and the mountainsides are steep, so slipping and falling to your death isn’t really hard to achieve,” Darion hummed. 

“You got lucky!” Remus chimed in. “That boulder could’ve hit you in the head! Or even worse: pushed you off a cliff or something!” He giggled, and Virgil can’t help but wonder what was so funny about someone falling to certain doom. He decided not to ponder that and instead just nodded. 

“Suppose I did.” “Aaand you also got lucky I decided to help you out,” Remus continued, sprawling across the couch. 

His nonchalant vibe scared Virgil a little, in all honesty. He couldn’t judge the demon properly and had no idea what the other was capable of. Surely he must be strong, considering he is a demon after all and that he lifted a boulder easily. Virgil just hoped he would hold true on his words and not kill him. It would definitely make his life a lot easier. As an answer he just nodded.

Darion gave a hum in acknowledgement, sitting down in the armchair opposite to the couch. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned a can of tea and cups, smiling slightly at Virgil. 

"Bedien' dich," he hummed and Virgil was very visibly confused. "What?" Darion looked just as confused for a second before he hummed and chuckled a little. "Oh silly me. I just said 'Take some if you want.'" “Oh,” Virgil mumbled. He hesitated before slowly reaching for a cup and pouring himself some tea. He didn’t want to test the demon’s politeness. Who knew what might happen.

Remus decided he didn’t need a cup, taking the can of tea and just pouring it into his open mouth, leaving Virgil very bewildered, but not questioning it. The other probably couldn’t feel heat anyway and didn’t need to wait for it to cool down. It was a little disgusting, though.

-

It had been a couple of hours. While Virgil had stayed mostly quiet he had still learned quite a lot about demons in that time. Misconceptions he had were cleared up, and he learned some really interesting things. Mainly that blue salt stone wasn’t actually a lethal poison to demons but merely disabled their powers for a while, unless exposed to it for a prolonged period of time (how long, Remus hadn’t specified, though he supposed it would have to be a couple days at least). That one had been the most surprising fact to him, considering back in his kingdom every slayer swore for the effectiveness of blue salt stone and its ability to kill demons in one blow. Not that he would actually tell them they were wrong now that he knew it. He’d just have a quiet laugh about it, and be rather glad it was, in fact, not deadly. Remus and Darion seemed nice enough and he wouldn’t want for them to be killed by slayers if they were ever caught. 

Another fun fact was the way magic and habitats work. Being raised to fear demons he never got to know the roots of magic, even non-demonic magic. Humans generally were unable to use any unless bestowed upon them by divinity. And the origins of demons? Those were never studied, or at least it wasn’t widespread enough to have reached him. His best friend Logan tried to dig into the topic but never really got far. 

“Your brother’s a water demon?” Virgil asked Remus, certainly intrigued. “How does that work? I didn’t know demons had siblings.” Remus laughed loudly at that.

“‘Course ya didn’t, silly. You’re a human.” 

Darion had, by now, headed to bed. He didn’t _need_ sleep, but it was certainly nice either way.  
“Well, I got a brother cause we were created together. Our ‘parents’ are the gods. They created us and bestowed each of us with powers.” “The gods? I thought demons were like… hated and shunned by heaven.” Remus shrugged. “Demons become demons ‘cause they got abandoned by their creators! ‘n ‘cause of that we strayed too far from their divine light and turned evil or whatever. Gotta ask the gods on that, they came up with those terms and shit.” Despite Remus’ nonchalant way of speaking, Virgil could hear a certain bitterness behind his words. “Roman got his powers from daddy dearest Wazzerus, and I got mine by Isturma. So he lives in the water cause it amplifies his powers and I’m here for the same reasons. Darion’s got his powers from Sneana, so the cold is like… his domain and shit.” Virgil nodded. "Makes sense."

Remus gave a hum. "Roman lives in the lake next to the mountain. The only reason the route over the lake is considered safe is 'cause he's a wuss and won't attack people." Virgil shrugged. "To be fair, there aren't deadly boulders hitting people when they ride across."

Remus laughed again. It was more genuine than mocking this time and Virgil decided he'd prefer that over bitter or mocking Remus. "I like you, gloomy boy," Remus decided. "You got a good sense of humor. Unlike Dee, he's got a stick up his ass. It's a shame! I make good jokes all day and he _never appreciates them_!" Dramatic, very much so. His over the top manner of speaking was accompanied by gestures, big and loud. Virgil was a little impressed with how hard a person could overdo it. Or, well, demon. 

"Anyway! What about your family? Anything interesting going on or are you stuck with sticks in the mud as well?" 

As he spoke, Remus moved to lay down on his stomach - still in the air. He was kicking his legs a little and looked genuinely interested, which surprised Virgil. It was kind of cute. Virgil wasn't really sure how to deal with those sorts of thoughts, but they were here now. Weird. He shrugged.

"My family's alright. My brothers are pretty cool, and my dad's alright as well. Kinda overprotective and whatever, but I can't really do much about that." He did like his family. Wouldn't trade them for the world. Remus laughed. “Maybe do more stunts like that and he won’t let you leave the castle at all,” he teased. Virgil couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re probably right, but nothing’s gonna keep me contained. I don’t do well with being told what to do.” “A rebel, huh? Gotta say, that’s kinda cute.” He floated over to Virgil. “Prince ‘I do my own thing’, I like you. You’re not a stuck up prick or the snooty royal I expected you to be.” Virgil huffed. “Thanks for that I suppose?”

Remus let out a giggle, moving to sit down next to Virgil. 

“Aw lighten up, it was a compliment! You have to admit that most princes and princesses tend to have something up their butt, which makes them super uptight. It’s _sooo_ boring.” He made a ‘bleh’ sound. Virgil shrugged, an amused smile on his face. 

“Can’t say I disagree. Especially those princes my dad wanted to marry me off to. All they care about is their appearance, their money, and their reputation. They don’t even appreciate a good smoke bomb.” Remus hummed. “You’re way too great to just be betrothed to someone that’ll make you miserable. Too handsome too!” Virgil flushed, his smile turning a tad sheepish. “Oh. Well, thanks I guess.” 

He was incredibly awkward. Was Remus flirting with him or was that how people outside the palace talked to each other? Virgil couldn’t tell. He didn’t have a lot of experience. Remus' grin was toothy and Virgil decided right then and there that the other was definitely adorable. He never imagined to be thinking those kinds of things about a _demon_ of all creatures, but well, no turning back now. Plus it was just true, sue him. Remus didn’t seem to notice his inner turmoil and Virgil was okay with that, definitely not needing the other to make fun of him for it.

He decided he was gonna try and figure this out on his own.

Over the course of the next few days Remus and Virgil had gotten closer. A lot of late night talks, getting to know each other, the possible flirting here and there. Of course he grew closer with Darion too, but nothing to this extent. He and Darion were just friends. Between him and Remus there was… something more. Virgil couldn't really deny it anymore. He was smitten. In love. Absolutely head over heels for the incredibly handsome demon that saved his life. 

Naturally, he had no idea how to deal with this revelation. This was a demon. He was a human. A human prince from a kingdom that specialised in hunting demons. That… certainly wasn’t the most promising combination. He wasn’t even sure if demons experienced love and romance like humans did. He wasn’t sure if he should ask. Maybe Darion but he didn’t want to make himself vulnerable to anything until he was absolutely certain there was a chance he and Remus could work out. 

Sure, he had hope, but hope only got him so far. There’s a thin line between hoping and believing. And if he could just cross over to the ‘believing’ part, then maybe things would be easier. It would bring him more certainty.


	2. Interlude

As the god of death, Sansemanus oversaw a lot of what happened during the day. Death and nearly fatal accidents were something he was familiar and well equipped with. Though, every once in a while, something unexpected enough happened that it caught his attention more than the souls that he brought his son to guide to the afterlife.

It wasn’t rare that he sometimes joined Ileana in watching over humans. He might be the god of death, but he knew when it was time for some to die and when he deemed it too soon. If he was able to, he'd prevent in any way he could, even if fate was only able to be controlled so much. Ileana, as the goddess of love and life, admired his efforts. She often commented how much more gentle and fair he was, compared to the other gods.

A lot of the other inhabitants of heaven were ruthless and cold, mercy not being a word known to them. Iberegha liked to strike whoever she thought disrespectful, Wazzerus believed in drowning people for not praying when they crossed a body of water, and so many of the others just did so out of boredom. Sansemanus couldn’t understand them, how they were so willing to take lives away simply for their own enjoyment. It meant nothing to them that these mortals had lives of their own, loved ones, hopes and dreams. Despite being the god of death itself, his grasp on controlling it was rather slim. All he could do was collect the lost souls and give them to his son to guide safely. He wished he could do more, though.

“Say Ileana,” Sansemanus said with a soft hum, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Who are you looking at now?”

Ileana leaned into the touch, smiling softly as she pointed down to the person he was watching.

“A prince. He climbed the mountains and I thought for sure he would die. Did you have a hand in this? I don’t suppose you would want to avert a boulder to keep a young man from dying, hm?” Sansemanus rolled his eyes fondly and kissed her cheek. “Dear you asked me to spare him. Say though, why are you still watching him? Did anything else happen?”

Ileana nodded quickly and grinned a little.

“Glad you asked! I can feel something blooming. Love powers!” She wiggled her fingers in a motion meant to represent ‘magic’. “And, well, I think it’s kind of interesting to watch unlikely love stories develop! A human and a demon, can you believe it? It’s been so long.” She made the fountain show a different scene, this time of the demon looking after the human, a longing expression on his face. 

“Well, what do you reckon we do, dear?” “Make sure they get the opportunity they need to fall in love if they want? I don’t want..” She paused, glancing over to where a few of their fellow gods were talking, giving a small sigh. “I don’t want _them_ to get any chance to ruin it for them.” 

Sansemanus nodded. He understood what she meant. If the other gods were to take note of the developing relationship then surely it would just put the two in peril. Particularly if Isturma found out. She would certainly not appreciate having her ‘little mistake’ falling for a human and ‘break the holy boundaries of love’, as she had lovingly put the last time they observed the relation between a human and a demon. A sentiment which earned her a long speech by Ileana about how love was _her_ domain and that she didn’t get to decide what was a holy boundary and what wasn’t, and that she should kindly shut her mouth. It did end up shutting her up and shutting Ileana off from the others. Sansemanus had stayed by her side and honestly he found they were better off without the constant meddling of the others. They just made their work more difficult.

“How do we ensure they won’t get in the way?”

Ileana shrugged, and Sansemanus could see the uncertainty on her face. Gently he cupped her face, which brought a smile to his wife’s face.

“Try and protect them if the others try to break them apart? Including harm, of course,” Ileana suggested and Sansemanus chuckled. “That is a given. But yes, that sounds like a plan my love.”


	3. Love Is Blooming

About a week later it was time for Virgil to leave.

He wasn't really all that keen on leaving if he was honest. Remus and Darion were nice, they took good care of him, and they were just good company in general. He certainly wasn't looking forward to being holed up in the castle again when he was back, forced to meet suitors and discuss all kinds of governing business that he had no interest in caring about. He wasn't the heir, why did he have to do it? The nagging voice in his brain explained that he had to be aware of it all in case of Remy's death but he didn't want to think about that. Neither the possibility of his brother's death nor the horrifying idea of becoming king. He wasn't cut out for that!

He was also very aware that, because he had never reached the valley, he hadn't sent a message home. So only heaven knows what his family did with that information. He wondered if they might have sent a rescue team to the poor village on the other side of the mountains, accusing them of regicide. He hoped that wasn't the case. Possibly they were extremely worried, Patton and Remy had been even before he left. Well, he was about to find out.

Darion and Remus had offered to accompany him on his trail down the mountain but he had declined. He didn't want to be seen with them, as his father’s men were, for the most part, slayers. He didn't want to endanger them. He was aware there wouldn't be any room for talking if he was spotted with a demon. His father would be convinced they'd kidnapped him. He was sure of it.

They had also promised him that he could come back and visit him any time he wanted, which managed to soothe his nerves a little. He promised them he would see them soon before he began his way back home. The mountain was still treacherous but it felt… calmer, and he couldn't help but feel it was due to demonic intervention. That accusation would probably be denied as soon as it was brought up, but the suspicious absence of harsh winds and boulders miraculously rolling always just past him was a little too much to just be chalked up to coincidence. Not that Virgil wasn't grateful because he was, but he found it quite amusing.

Soon enough he was home, standing in front of the golden gates, and two guards who seemed to be bursting with relief.

"Prince Virgil!" One of them cried, clearly not having expected to see him. "You are well! Your father has been very worried, the whole palace has been looking for you."

Virgil cleared his throat. "I had an accident while scaling the mountain. I was taken in by some nice folk who live at the top." He was hoping it was convincing enough. By the guards reaction he figured they hadn't caught on to the slight uncertainty in his voice.

"The mountains? Sir, there are demons haunting the mountains. Luckily you weren't found by them," the other guard threw in. The first guard agreed with a nod. "They're dangerous creatures, your majesty. Treacherous and evil. I am sure your father and siblings will be delighted to hear you managed to avoid danger."

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, sure. Can I go in now?” He asked, trying not to sound impatient. The guards realized they were indeed keeping his majesty from doing so and nodded, stepping aside and opening the gates for Virgil to enter the property. 

A lot of staff was outside, and Virgil was very uncomfortable being the center of attention. They all seemed happy that he was alive, and while he was a little happy everyone was glad to see him, the constant eyes on him and the delighted chatter and whispers were a little too much for him. Luckily his attention was quickly swept away from the palace staff and towards his brother, who basically threw himself at him.

“Virgil! You’re okay!” Patton sobbed, holding on to his brother tightly. Virgil hesitated for a short second before hugging him back, giving a small chuckle. 

“Yeah- I’m sorry, I never reached the valley. Didn’t mean to worry you guys.” 

Patton nodded, not really paying that much attention honestly. He was just glad Virgil was okay. After a minute or two he pulled away. 

“Come on, let’s go see dad before he sends another search unit.” He began to walk towards the front doors and Virgil followed him quickly. “Another? Please tell me he hasn’t sent more than one ‘til now.” Patton gave a hum. 

“The first one took a few days to get back because they took the long way around. Not even dad’s best men are brave enough to climb the mountain.” He turned to face him. “So that makes you braver than all of them. Stupid too, but also kind of brave. But mostly stupid.” Virgil huffed. 

“I know, you don’t have to tell me.” Patton chuckled. “I think I do so you don’t do it again.”

He tried not to let it show but Virgil could hear the relief and fear in his voice. He must have really been scared. Virgil would be lying if he said he didn’t feel bad. He could only imagine how his father must have felt.

They reached the throne room before long, Virgil a bit hesitant to follow Patton inside. He felt like he was going to get the worst punishment of his life. Sure, he was an adult, and _technically_ he could do what he wanted, but then again he still lived with his father and his father liked to switch between treating him like a baby and like he was going to be king. He was certain he’d just be treated like a baby the next few weeks. 

When his father laid eyes on his second oldest, he froze for a second, before he jumped up, quickly making his way towards Virgil. Before the other had time to even explain himself he was already wrapped up in an embrace, his father mumbling about how glad he was that he was okay. To say Virgil felt guilty was an understatement. Remy came running over quickly too, pulling Virgil close as soon as their dad let go of him. “Don’t ever do that again, pumpkin, or I’ll rip your head off,” Remy hissed, though relief was very apparent in his voice. Virgil just nodded.

When he was released from the embrace, he sighed. “Okay, I owe you all an explanation.” His family nodded. “I never made it to the valley. I had an accident while climbing the mountain. There were some folks that took me in and helped heal me, but that meant I couldn’t send a message. I’m sorry for worrying all of you.” His smile was sheepish, but he was genuinely sorry.

His father’s smile was soft. “I am just glad you’re alright. Now go and rest, the trip back couldn’t have been easy.” Virgil smiled at and gave a nod. “I will, thanks dad.”

A little while later, Virgil made his way to the outskirts of the palace, particularly towards the weavery, hoping to find his best friend there. He had a lot to tell the other.

Logan was the son of the royal dressmakers and therefore lived in the palace. He was the same age as Virgil and the two had been best friends since they were little. Logan’s family had been working for Virgil’s family for generations, even before Virgil’s family became royalty. A long running family history that had its perks. The royal family had people they trusted as dressmakers or, in Logan’s older brother's case, royal advisor, and Logan’s family had complete immunity and protection.

Virgil knocked on the door to the weavery before entering, a small grin spreading over his face when he saw Logan there. That certainly saved his day. He tried to not let his excitement show, he had a reputation to uphold after all. Plus he didn’t want anyone to get suspicious. He was supposed to be returning from a stressful journey, not an exciting adventure. Though, if he was honest, it was certainly both.

Logan looked up when he heard the door open, lighting up a little when he saw Virgil. He, admittedly, had been worried. He knew about the other’s plans, had tried to get him to not go even, but then again, Virgil was very stubborn when he wanted to be. So when the news rang through the palace that Virgil hadn’t sent a message upon arrival and grew rightfully worried. He refused to succumb to any fear or unrealistic scenarios his brain could come up with and didn’t pay any attention to the concept of death existing so close to him that it could have taken Virgil. Preposterous, clearly. Of course, as fast as the news of Virgil’s departure had spread, the news of Virgil’s return had just as quickly. Though, Logan would only believe it when Virgil came to see him. And, well, there he was. He got up quickly, excusing himself, making his way towards his friend. He was less touchy than Virgil’s family had been, instead just nodding at Virgil and giving a small. 

“Good to see you alive.” Virgil chuckled. “Can you bail? I have a lot to tell you.” Logan nodded, glancing towards his parents who smiled and nodded, motioning for them to go and talk.

Virgil hummed, leading Logan out the weavery and towards a more secluded place where they could talk without being spied on or interrupted. Virgil _really_ didn’t want anyone to listen in on this conversation. They reached a tree on the far outskirts of the property. It laid a little higher than the rest of the surrounding fields, resembling a small hill. It wasn’t really meant for sitting, as evident by the missing benches and similar. Though not that either of them really cared. They sat down on the grass underneath the tree and Logan turned to Virgil curiously.

“So, what happened?”

Virgil thought on how to best begin the story. “Okay, so-” And he began to recount what happened. How the mountains were just the worst, how a boulder literally almost crushed him, and how he got rescued by a really hot guy, no seriously, Logan you should have seen him. He didn’t fail to mention that the hot guy had an equally as hot friend, and Logan didn’t fail to notice the smirk Virgil was giving him. Immediately he knew what was on Virgil’s mind and suppressed a groan. “There’s one more thing though,” Virgil hummed and Logan gave a questioning noise, telling him to go on. 

Virgil hesitated. He trusted Logan. Logan wouldn’t snitch on him, that wasn’t his style. But he couldn’t help but be a little scared of Logan disapproving of it. Mainly because this was his best friend, and he had hoped he would accompany him the next time he went. Though if Logan wasn’t particularly fond of the idea, well, Virgil couldn’t blame him. Either way…

“They’re demons.”

Pointedly he looked anywhere but Logan, trying to swallow his nervousness. Logan’s silence did nothing to soothe his nerves, only making the concept of fleeing all the more enticing. To his luck, though, Logan did eventually speak. 

“Like actual real life demons? Did you see them do demon things or was it all just empty words?” Virgil shook his head. Not really all that telling, considering the question had an ‘or’ in it.

“They had actual, real magic. That’s the only reason I’m even here, because one of them had like… healing magic. Made my leg heal faster. And the hot one, his name is Remus by the way, he was the one that saved me. He could lift up the boulder like it was nothing, and then afterwards carried me to his hut like I was a doll or something. That couldn’t have been a human.” Logan nodded thoughtfully. 

“You’re right. That behavior doesn’t sound very demon-y though.” Virgil shrugged. 

“In my week with them I learned that half of what we’re taught about demons, and the gods too for that matter, isn’t even true. So I’d rather go off what they show and tell me. Sure, there definitely _are_ really evil demons and shit, but not all of them are inherently evil. Just how not every god is merciful.” 

Logan thought about that for a second before nodding.”Sounds reasonable. What are you going to do now?” “I said I’d visit them again soon enough,” Virgil shrugged. “And, well, I was hoping you’d accompany me. I don’t really want to go up the mountain alone again,” he admitted sheepishly. “I already told them I might bring you along, so you wouldn’t have to worry about them reacting in a hostile way towards you.”

Logan thought about the offer for a little, going through all the options in his head. He trusted Virgil and he didn’t doubt he was telling the truth. He also didn’t seem to be brainwashed or mind-controlled or whatever (he wasn't even sure if demons could do that, plus if this really was a trap, then Virgil wouldn’t even have told him he would be dealing with demons anyway), behaving much the same as usual. He sighed before smiling slightly at Virgil.

“Just to make sure you don’t die,” he teased and Virgil chuckled. “I knew I could count on you. And, well, like I said, Darion’s hot too. So you can possibly get yourself a demon boyfriend as well.” Logan hummed. “As well? I thought you weren’t dating the ‘oh-so-hot’ demon yet.” Virgil flushed and huffed. “A man can dream,” he mumbled, making Logan chuckle.  
——

It had been a few weeks since Virgil had returned and it was obvious that he was getting restless. He wanted to visit Darion and Remus again, though he knew it wouldn’t be smart to leave again right after returning. Though he felt like enough time had passed that he could dare to announce another trip to his family. He gave a proper location this time, saying he would visit the people that took him in, that he had promised to visit them once in a while as a thank you, possibly bring them some fruit from the royal gardens. His father was understanding enough, though he insisted on Virgil being escorted, not wanting his son to go alone. So… he had to find a way out of that one.

Later that day he met with Logan to plan. Both agreed to give a fake date, and then leave the night before. Logan already had an idea on how to accomplish that. See, while Logan might be the son of the royal weavers, he really didn’t enjoy making clothes in any capacity. He prided himself in being smart, an inventor. Capturing magic in its bare essentials and turning it into technology. Most his inventions were a horrific failure, he would admit to that, though some worked flawlessly. And he was getting better too. For the mission they honestly didn’t need much, just a distraction. 

There was a bigger hurdle though: Convincing Logan’s parents to let him leave. While he may be an adult, just like Virgil, his parents were definitely not enthusiastic about the idea of their son going on a very dangerous journey to visit some people neither they nor he knew. He promised them they were under the protection of the royal guard, and his parents relented. Of course that would not be the case if they had their way, but Logan’s parents didn’t have to know that, of course.

The night before their scheduled departure, Logan and Virgil met up for their real departure. 

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Virgil asked quietly, not too certain of the odds of this plan working out. Logan nodded. “The guards are obligated to check out any disturbances, I don’t think any of them will risk losing their job.” 

It was their luck that there weren’t guards stationed around every outer wall of the property. It made some sense. The castle walls were too high to be climbed from the outside. Additionally there were other mechanisms to keep intruders out. As inhabitants of the castle, both Logan and Virgil luckily knew the ins and outs of the traps, making their escape an easy feat.

Their meeting spot was the hill with the tree, their regular hang out spot. It made climbing over the outer walls that bit easier if one knew how to climb a tree. Quickly, silently, they made their way over to the other side, unseen luckily. Their way continued towards the front gates. They stopped a good distance away and Logan pulled something out of his pockets: smoke bombs. With utmost precision he threw them over the wall, back onto the property. It created a loud explosion, as well as produced smoke (both of which were inherently harmless. The ‘explosion’ was just sound, no actual damage). As predicted, the guards left their positions to run inside and investigate the disturbance, leaving Virgil and Logan to quickly run past the gate and into the safety of the forests bordering the palace and mountains.

"Thank the gods that worked," Virgil mumbled when he was certain they were far enough away. Logan nodded in agreement. "The guards are really stupid, I have to say. It would have been more productive to send a few to investigate while the others stayed on their posts." Virgil huffed. "Be glad they didn't think of that or otherwise we'd have an issue. If they would have come with us tomorrow they would've brought their dogs along and endangered Remus and Darion."

He began walking towards the mountain path, approaching the monks that had set up a small camp at the foot of the mountain. When they noticed them, a few of them recognized Virgil immediately. "Oh sir. You have decided to return?" One of them spoke. It was the same one that warned Virgil the last time he decided to venture here. Virgil nodded. "We will be visiting someone. They live on the other side." A few monks were visibly alarmed.

"Sir I do urge you to take the ferry instead. It might take longer but it is safer." Virgil shook his head. "I heard the lake has a monster infestation." "That's just tales sir, no monster has ever been seen. The mountains however are guarded by demons. It's certainly more dangerous." "Thanks for the warning, but we will go up the mountain." He glanced at Logan and nodded towards the path before beginning to walk again, Logan following him. The monks were seemingly displeased but let them pass.

The way up was worse than Virgil remembered, half regretting making this journey but set on visiting Remus and Darion. Logan was just as regretful and didn't keep from voicing his complaints. 

"This was a terrible idea," he huffed and Virgil shrugged. "Maybe so. You came along though." "I couldn't leave you to die," Logan scoffed. Virgil was about to retort that he was fine the first time and that he would have been fine the second time around but was stopped by a boulder. Quickly he tumbled back a little to not be hit. He paused, waiting for possibly a second one before beginning to walk again. 

"That was close."

Logan kind of wanted to rip Virgil's head off.

-

After about half a day of walking they finally made it up to the small cottage at the top, Virgil's mood becoming better the closer they got. 

"We're here," he told Logan with a hum. "Let's go." 

He made his way towards the door and knocked, impatient and nervous, as evident by the way he rocked on his feet. The door opened, revealing Darion, who smiled at Virgil. 

"Hey there your highness," he teased before noticing Logan. "Who's that?" "That's Logan, my best friend. He agreed to come with me and meet you guys," Virgil hummed. Darion nodded before lowering his voice. "Did you tell him that we are… you know?" 

At Virgil’s nod Darion seemed to relax a little, though still a little cautious. Logan _was_ a stranger after all. Nonetheless he smiled at both of them

Logan followed Virgil inside, a little cautious still. Though could you blame him? He was entering the house of demons. Who wouldn't be careful? Well, Virgil as it seems. Though he's been here before, so maybe it made sense. Either way, they were inside now. Looking around, Logan had to say that it had a nice interior. Well, more or less. There was definitely some chaos scattered around the room. From what Virgil told him, that had to be Remus' doing. That also had to be the person floating above the table. 

Said person lit up when he noticed them, floating towards Virgil immediately. 

"Scarecrow! You're visiting!" Virgil hummed and nodded. "I am. Told ya I would," he smiled a little.

Darion decided he would let the two do, turning to Logan instead.

"So, Logan hm?" He asked, watching him with a piercing gaze. Logan felt a little uncomfortable but nodded. "Yeah." Darion stayed quiet for a little before smiling slightly. "Forgive me for being cautious, but you can imagine that our existence isn't quite easy. We have to be aware of potential threats." Logan nodded. 

"I can imagine. Do you generally get a lot of people trying to hurt you?" "Generally not. We have the luck of living on top of a mountain that sane people tend to steer clear of."

He motioned for Logan to follow him before making his way to the kitchen, where they could talk without being interrupted by Remus and Virgil trying to flirt with each other. Logan followed him, rolling his eyes at Remus and Virgil’s behavior.

Darion sat down at the table, nodding towards the other chair, indicating that Logan could sit down if he so desired. Logan accepted the offer, sitting down opposite from the demon.

“So,” he began, “you’re a demon.” “Indeed.” “That is absolutely fascinating. Please tell me more.” Darion couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the way Logan’s eyes sparkled and he nodded. “If you have questions feel free to ask.” 

With a snap of his fingers he conjured some tea, figuring they would be here for a while. Logan grinned at that, intrigued and amazed by the magic as well as the permission to ask all the questions he wanted. 

“So. Where do demons come from exactly?”

Darion began to explain, overall the same story Remus had told Virgil, just a lot more detailed and coherent. Darion wasn’t one to use a lot of ‘and shit’ or similar. Logan listened intently, looking like he wished he was able to take notes.

“If it’s not too personal, can I ask what makes gods reject their ‘children’? Not necessarily your story, unless you want to say, I just want to understand.” Darion smiled a little at that before he sighed deeply.

“There’s a lot of reasons for demons to come to be. The gods might become bored of you, they might want a new shiny toy. To a lot of gods we are nothing more than dolls with features, barely any of them actually see us as their children. Another might be disobeying. Say you disagree with a decision your creator made, and you voice that opinion, you have shown disrespect, and, depending on how ruthless said creator is, you might be disowned or even killed. In my case it was the first. Sneana abandoned me. Left me for dead. She just put me down on this here mountain, banishing me from heaven, and then never came back for me.” He gripped his teacup so tight his knuckles turned white. “Which is why I began distancing myself from heaven. She is not my mother. She is heartless and cruel.”

He fell quiet, glancing over to Logan, who seemed deeply troubled by this realization. Not that Darion could blame him. Humans were very attached to heaven and the gods, so the knowledge that not all the gods were as kind as they believed had to be terrible news. It only took Logan a few seconds though to get back to wanting to ask questions.

“Your names. Do you keep them when you are rejected or are you forced to change them?” That wasn’t really a question Darion had been expecting.  
“Well,” he began, unsure how to actually follow up the word. “Yes and no.” He shrugged. “Remus and his brother kept their names, out of spite I believe. Some gods might assign you a new name, whether you like it or not. I changed my name, as it was nothing but bad memories and lies.”

He took a sip of his tea, seeing interest written all over Logan’s face. He knew the other wanted to ask about his old name. Perhaps know the meaning of both names, though he seemed to have a little too much tact to straight up ask. Darion decided to liberate him from the pain of not being able to ask.

“Janus.” “Huh?” “My name used to be Janus. It means ‘The gods are merciful’, which is just the biggest -pardon my language- bullshit I have ever heard. My creator certainly wasn’t and her choosing to give me such a name was nothing but her patting herself on the back. I wanted nothing to do with it anymore.” “Sounds reasonable. Why did you choose the name Darion?” Darion smiled a little at that before shrugging. “It means gift. Just like my liberation from heaven was a gift, and how my new name is somewhat of a gift from me to myself. It is a tad cheesy, I will admit to that.” Logan chuckled.

“I think it is a nice name. It has a very nice sound, plus it fits you.” “Oh- Well, thank you, I suppose.” He took another sip of his tea. “Do you have any more questions?” Logan nodded. “How did you meet Remus?” Darion chuckled. “That’s a long story.” Logan didn’t seem any less interested at that notion, and Darion figured that, well, now he _had_ to tell it.

“It was a few years ago, demons age just like you humans, you see. Contrary to popular belief we aren’t all thousands of years old, our immortality fades when we lose our divinity. “ Logan nodded. “Virgil already told me about that. You are about our age, which is rather surprising, though I suppose humans really don’t know a lot about demons.” Darion chuckled and gave a hum in agreement.

“The amount of misinformation you get taught about us is horrendous. I suppose that’s why we are so feared. Not that I mind all that much, it makes my life easier. Well, regardless… I found Remus shortly after he was abandoned, at the foot of the mountain. He was with his brother, a mighty water demon. Both have been abandoned at the same time, and while Roman had found a friend in one of the local water nymphs, Remus had no one but his brother. And nowhere to go. By that point I had been discarded for a while, so this cottage already existed. Just in a smaller form. After noticing him as a fellow demon we quickly became friends and I invited him to come live here with me. The rest is history.” 

Logan nodded, giving a hum once Darion was done. “That wasn’t that long.” “Is that really the only thing you’re going to comment on?” “No, but I wanted to point out.” Darion rolled his eyes. “Shoot me your next question, nerd.” “Can you be summoned?” That question certainly got Darion’s attention. “Why do you ask, are you planning to summon me anytime soon? I feel honored you crave my company so dearly, but I don’t think you have proven yourself to be worthy of being able to do that.”

“I just want to know for understanding purposes. It is always rumored to be possible though no one knows for certain if it is. So I simply wanted to know if you could confirm or debunk that,” Logan explained with a huff. Darion chuckled. “Relax, I am just messing with you. But yes, summoning is a thing. Each demon can be summoned with citing some scriptures and special incantation. I am not telling you either though. I hope that was enough information for you.”  
———

Virgil and Logan kept visiting over the course of the next few months. The visits become longer and more frequent as time went on, which neither them nor Darion and Remus had an issue with. Remus was always delighted when they came to visit and as much as Darion pretended to be indifferent it really was obvious that he, too, liked them being over. They were his friends. 

Today was such a day, they had come to visit. Virgil had just gotten back from a diplomatic visit to the next kingdom over. It was boring, as it always was. Nothing much to see and talk about, and Virgil was convinced it was because the prince of said kingdom was another suitor for him. Gross. Virgil had it up to here with his father’s attempts to marry him off. 

He was leaning against Remus and venting his frustrations about how his father needed to stop deciding that he should get married and pick his partners for him. How he didn’t want to marry some prince from some far off kingdom he never met before, how he didn’t really want to get married in the first place. He associated marriages with boring festivities, dumb ceremonies, and being shipped off to the middle of nowhere to rule some deadbeat kingdom no one cares about.

“I just don’t get it,” he groaned. “Dad says he doesn’t want me to leave the palace anyway! So why should I get married then, he will just have to let me go then anyway! So maybe he should focus less on that and more on what I can do for our kingdom! I’m not gonna be king any time soon, Remy will unless he like… dies or something. But I can still be useful! I can do stuff! I am more than just some price to be married off!”

Virgil hadn’t even noticed how worked up he got until he felt himself sniffling. He was a little surprised with himself, not really having expected to just begin crying. He buried his face in Remus’ shoulder, who wrapped his arms around him. “Hey- Hey no, it’s okay! Don’t cry-”

Remus didn’t know how to deal with crying. Virgil had never cried when he was here before! The only person he knew that cried was Roman, but Virgil wasn’t Roman, plus he was never good at comforting his brother either… 

“Your dad just doesn’t realize what he’s got in you, I bet you’d be a kickass king, and you’re way too cool to just be married off to somewhere, I promise!” Virgil chuckled weakly but smiled a little at that. 

“Thanks Ree,” he mumbled with a sigh. “It means a lot.”

They stayed quiet after that, just sitting together until Darion and Logan emerged from wherever they had run off to to join them.

“What are you two up to?” Virgil shrugged. “Not much, we were just talking. You?” Logan hummed. 

“Darion showed me some magic. It will do wonders in my studies and help my inventions now that I have someone who understands magic in a way that I am unable to. At least yet, I am steadily working on improving my own understanding and abilities day by day, of course, though sadly I haven’t had a lot of success yet.” He shook his head. “Nevertheless, it was a nice exercise.”

Virgil smiled at that. “That’s good then. We’ve really just been talking. Or well, I’ve been talking,” he admitted. Remus had by then already stopped hugging Virgil, keeping his arms to himself again. He didn’t want Darion or Logan to comment on it and make Virgil uncomfortable. They weren’t dating, even if Remus, just a little tiny bit, wished they were. No need to make Virgil uncomfortable about the whole thing. So he was just sitting kind of awkwardly close now, but he also didn’t want to scoot away.

Darion smiled at Remus knowingly, having listened to his best friend’s love troubles more times than he could count. Not that he really was any better. He couldn’t quite deny his fondness for Logan, though he didn’t feel like he had much of a chance with him either way. Humans and demons didn’t mingle in these ways (though they also didn’t become friends either, but Darion refused to see any correlation between the two. It was just wishful thinking either way.) and he was not about to get his hopes up, just to have them crushed again.

“What magic did you do?” Virgil asked with a hum and Darion smiled. “I showed him a bit of fire magic. Logan’s a pyromaniac apparently.” “I am not,” Logan huffed in his defense. “I am just interested in the ins and outs of the relation between fire and magic, and how the two come together, nothing more. And if I am planning to do some fire based inventions, well, then that is no one’s business but my own.” “I think it’s the business of whoever's house you’re burning down Lo,” Virgil teased, receiving a glare in return, which only caused Virgil to laugh.

“It’s okay Lolo, you can say if you wanna do some arson. I encourage you!” Remus grinned widely at him and Logan looked like he was ready to fight, which only caused everyone to burst out laughing. Virgil gently nudged him. 

“Lolly we’re just joking.” 

Logan huffed but rolled his eyes with a fond smile. “Yeah yeah, I know. I do still think I get the right to be offended by it either way.” “Sure, you do you.”

The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully, the four of them just talking and hanging out together. Though as the day drew to a close, Logan and Darion had bid their goodnights, which left Remus and Virgil. The two had decided to go outside on the cliff, watching over the entire mountainscape and even up to the palace. It was quite beautiful, honestly. Sunset painted the world in a gorgeous orange hue, and Virgil decided that nothing beat this sight. He heard Remus hum from beside him, turning his head to watch the other and he felt that he had to correct his previous statement. Remus was the only thing that beat this sight. His smile was soft as he watched him, not even fully noticing. He got kind of lost in the way Remus looked calm and relaxed, smiling as he watched the world fall quiet. He looked really beautiful like this. Virgil was startled out of his thoughts when Remus’ head whipped around with a grin.

“What’cha looking at?” Virgil cleared his throat at that, trying to overplay that Remus did, in fact, scare him. “Just thinking.” “‘Bout what?” “... You.” 

Virgil refused to look at Remus as he spoke, instead focusing on a bird that landed in a tree close to them. He watched it almost fall off a branch before taking off again, presumably to find a different tree that didn’t have the intention of killing it. Remus’ eyes widened a little before he cocked his head.

“Me?” “Uh-huh.” “Did I do somethin’ wrong or why are you thinking about me?” “Not really. It’s more that you’re just… really cute, I guess. And I like watching you when you smile.” Remus looked confused for a second before he giggled. “Aww, do you like me?”

That question caught Virgil off-guard. Did he? Well, yeah, he did. There was no denying that he liked Remus for a while now. Did he want the other to know that though? He wasn’t sure. He trusted Remus, the other wouldn’t play with his heart (or so he hoped at least) but still, he didn't want to make things awkward between them. He shrugged. “Guess so.”

The silence that followed made Virgil uneasy. He’s not used to silence from Remus. So that was unsettling as is, and then mixed with the fact that he just sort of confessed his crush on the other it just made everything worse. What if he really _had_ fucked up? He took a deep breath to keep from panicking, just watching the sunset. He made a small, surprised noise when he felt someone grab his hand. A small glance confirmed that it was Remus, who was also pointedly looking anywhere but at him.

“I like you too.” “Nice... Wait, seriously?” 

Virgil looked at him incredulously, almost as if he had grown a second head.

“Super seriously,” Remus confirmed, still not looking at him. “Okay, like… I’ve never done this before, I don’t know how this works. Demons usually don’t date but would you like to go out with me?” 

Remus met Virgil’s eyes and Virgil couldn’t help but flush before lighting up a little. He gave a hum and squeezed Remus’ hand.

“Sure.”  
———

It had been a little while now since Virgil and Remus had started dating (2 months exactly. Virgil was keeping count) and Remus decided it was time Virgil met his brother.

Virgil had heard a lot about Roman from stories Remus told him, and from what Darion told him as well. He sounded like a nice person, though so far he never had the opportunity to meet him. Well, that was until now. Remus had arranged for them to have a small get together at the foot of the mountain, as that was where the lake had its shore. On the secluded side though, neither of the twins were particularly interested in being seen by the monks and priests, preferring to live secluded enough to not be bothered and possibly being ratted out to their ‘parents’. Dealing with Iberegha was bad enough as it is, having to endure Isturma’s wrath would only be worse, especially considering it was Isturma who abandoned Remus all those years ago.

They didn’t hike down the mountain, that would have taken way too long. Remus simply flew them down, which only took a few minutes instead of five hours, which was definitely desirable for all parties involved, though Virgil had definitely been pretty scared during the entirety of the flight. He trusted Remus, of course he did, but still. Flying for the first time in your life was a scary feeling. Needless to say he was more than happy when he stood on solid ground again.

“Let’s never do that again,” he huffed, crossing his arms, making Remus giggle. “We need to do it at least one more time to get up the mountain, unless you want to walk.” He kissed Virgil’s cheek and grabbed the other’s hand with a hum. “C’mon, just over there, that’s where Roman’s waiting for us.” 

He led his boyfriend over to the riverbank; well hidden between the mountains, not even noticeable with the ferry, which made it the perfect meeting spot. As they approached, Virgil could see a man that looked a lot like a merman sitting on a rock. Instead of legs he had a giant fin,though he did resemble Remus quite a lot, sans the mustache. From that, Virgil figured, this had to be Roman.

He was proven right when Remus waved at the merman with a cheery “Hi Roro!”, quickly dragging Virgil towards his brother.

“Vee, that’s Roman! Ro, that’s Virgil!”

Virgil found the way Remus was almost bouncing pretty adorable. Then again, he found most everything Remus did adorable, so maybe he wasn’t the best judge. Nonetheless, he must have looked pretty gay, watching Remus with a small smile.

Roman noticed pretty much immediately, crossing his arms with a smirk. “That’s your boyfriend, Ree? Well, he looks pretty smitten to me, so I guess it checks out.”

That made Virgil snap out of his gay trance and he cleared his throat, looking away with a flush. Remus, who had been incredibly oblivious to the staring Virgil had done, due to being a tad too focused on being excited glanced over to his boyfriend, before a shit-eating grin made its way onto his face.

“Well, I sure hope he is,” he said with a small snicker, reveling in the embarrassed huff he got out of Virgil. Quickly he kissed his cheek. “I’m just teasing you, Scarecrow! C’mon, let’s sit so you can get to know Roman!”

Virgil grumbled but nodded, sitting down and just kind of looking between Roman and Remus, who had immediately began to catch up on whatever had been happening recently, Roman having some gossip on the monks and how, apparently, Iberegha had recently smote one for having the _audacity_ to crush one of her flowers. Virgil found the whole thing significantly less funny than Remus and Roman, but he was also aware that he had not been cursed, pestered, and harrassed by the monks over and over again. He understood why they found it funny he just… couldn’t, not really.

Seemingly Roman noticed his slight discomfort, quickly changing the topic, shifting the attention a bit to Virgil and just asking him some questions. Mainly how royalty like him found its way into these far-off mountains and how the diddly-darn heck he ever fell for Remus, making his brother make an offended noise.

Virgil, while not really being a fan of being the center of attention, found this wasn’t as bad as it was in the kingdom, particularly because Remus holding his hand was incredibly calming.

The three talked for what felt like hours. Virgil found Roman was nice to be around. Funny, even if a bit arrogant at times, though not too much that it became unbearable. The two played off each other well, both incredibly snarky and with a comeback to whatever comment it was the other had made. It was nice.

Remus seemed obviously happy with this outcome, glad his boyfriend got along with his brother. It was way better than if they had hated each other, because Remus wasn’t sure how he’d have balanced that. So, luckily for him, he didn’t need to do that. He was mostly quiet as Roman and Virgil talked, a rare feat for him. But he decided that it might be smarter to just let them talk and get to know each other. Though that never worked well for him, honestly, and soon enough he joined in on the conversation enthusiastically, sort of leading it.

He couldn’t help it, he strived off of attention, and so did his brother, which was why the conversation shifted to mainly them talking. Virgil didn’t mind, all the talking draining his social battery quickly. He listened to the two demons talk for the most part afterwards, chiming in occasionally but certainly happy that he didn’t have to carry the whole thing.

They hadn’t realized how long they had stayed until it began to turn dark.

Virgil gave a surprised hum when he noticed the sun setting, nudging Remus.

“I think we should probably go back home, it’s getting late.”

Remus wasn’t particularly happy about that idea, grumbling a little and pouting but nodding nonetheless. He just really liked spending time with his brother, but he also knew that, yeah, heading home might be a smart idea. Reluctantly he got up from where he was sitting on the ground and grinned at his brother.

“Alright Roro, we oughta be leavin’ then! Don’t drown and see you around!” His grin was toothy, showing off the sharp fangs he had rather spectacularly. Roman chuckled and nodded. “I’ll try not to. See you around brother dearest. And Virgil it was nice to meet you.”

He nodded at both of them before disappearing into the lake quickly enough. Virgil watched him, slightly bewildered, before shrugging and taking Remus’ hand.

“Your brother’s kinda weird.” “Yep, just like me!”  
———

Logan had been incredibly interested in the kind of magic Darion could conjure and create and honestly he had a million questions he’d like to ask the other. Luckily for him, Darion never really seemed to mind answering his questions. It helped Logan greatly in his research and it also gave him an excuse to talk to the other without necessarily having to come up with many diverse conversation topics. Logan generally wasn’t the best at conversation topics and preferred to just talk about a few specific things over and over again, especially as he could find so much information every time he talked about it and researched it and, honestly, he couldn’t understand why other people didn’t agree with that. But he was getting off-track. 

He really wanted to spend time with Darion while simultaneously learning something about the topic he was most interested in. It took him quite a while to understand what was going on, as feelings had never been his strong suit. But, after thinking about it for a long, long while, as well as talking about it with Virgil, he realized that those feelings he was experiencing might be romantic. And, well, wasn’t that curious? Sure, he had been in relationships before (granted, not many) but still, it always came a little as a surprise every time. He especially wasn’t sure about how he should pursue his feelings. Virgil had swore to him that he was sure Darion returned his feelings, and that he should just ask him out (what a hilarious thing to come from his best friend, considering his very own behavior in situations much less ‘dire’ than this one), but Logan wasn’t convinced it would be the best idea. He would like to spend more time with Darion first, just to be sure that he would not be met with bitter rejection, or that he, at the very least, would be able to handle it. 

Today was one of those days where he just wanted to spend time with Darion. Remus and Virgil were busy doing… something, Logan wasn’t really sure what, but he also knew it wasn’t really any of his business, so he didn’t concern himself with it. He concerned himself with Darion instead, as that seemed much more appropriate. 

He had been trying to work out the quirk in his newest invention without any real luck. He just wasn’t sure what was wrong and it was bothering him immensely, because he was a perfectionist through and through. If something didn’t work the way he wanted it to, he’d dedicate most of his time towards making sure every metaphorical cog was turning the way it’s supposed to and that each link of the chain was properly holding everything together. He always tried to make sure there were no flaws that could backfire, but… he never really managed that. His perfectionism made him overthink everything and caused more mistakes than if he just worked normally. That was something he would never be able to forgive himself for, but he also knew there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. He tried but trying only ever got you so far. Oh man, he kept getting off track, didn’t he? Curse the brain of a genius, plagued with a million strings of thoughts at once, jumping from one to the other, never quite sticking around long enough for him to properly make himself clear to others. They never quite understood his thought processes and-

He really needed to stop doing this. _Anyway._

He found Darion sitting in the living room, reading some book that Logan didn’t care enough about to tell you what it actually was. Most literature bored him. It was slow going, and barely interesting enough to hold his attention for longer than 20 minutes at a time. Unless it was about technology, of course, that could keep him interested for hours on end. But this wasn’t a book about technology so he really didn’t care.

“Hello Darion,” Logan hummed with a small smile, moving to sit down next to the demon. From glancing over the other’s shoulder he could see the book had pictures inside. Curious. It looked… oh heavens, this was a romance novel, wasn’t it? Those were two people kissing. Frankly that’s disgusting, why would anyone ever want to read about two people in love? That felt incredibly voyeury and highly illegal. Surely that wasn’t legal. 

“Hello Logan.”

Darion didn’t even look up from his book and Logan couldn’t quite shake the feeling of.... he honestly wasn’t really sure what it was what he was feeling, just that he didn’t enjoy not getting Darion’s full attention. That was something he had to work through. Maybe that was related to his crush, though he never really felt so… _pouty_ before. Weird.

“I see you are reading. Say, would you be willing to abandon that activity to teach me some magic? Or would you rather that I come back later?”

Darion gave a hum and marked the page he was on before putting the book away and turning to smile at Logan.

“I have time, don’t worry. Spending time with you beats any book.”

And wow, well if that didn’t make Logan’s heart beat faster. If he were to use a common phrase, he might say it felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. However that was highly illogical and therefore he would never use that phrase. He smiled at Darion.

“That is a very sweet sentiment and I appreciate that you feel that way. Let’s go then? Perhaps we should go to the cave this time, so we don’t accidentally set something on fire again.” “Yeah, you might be right about that.”

Darion stood up with a small chuckle, smiling at Logan, who quickly stood up as well. The two made their way towards the cave, Logan explaining his newest invention to Darion on the way. Supposedly some kind of bomb powered by magic, similar to his smoke bombs but filled with magic mist that would not only disorient but also stun the people hit by it. Darion wasn’t sure how practical or possible a bomb like that would be, but he was very supportive of Logan and didn’t mind trying to help him.

Because, unbeknownst to Logan, Darion was harboring a crush of his own. He was completely smitten with the nerd, and honestly, he would do anything to make the other happy. Luckily for him, Logan’s goals and interests were very accomplishable and not something like wanting the literal stars from the sky, so Darion had the ability to help Logan achieve his dreams. He was formulating a plan on how to tell Logan that, hey, we was rather gay for him, but he could never quite manage to come up with something eloquent enough that would both convey his feelings and not make him look like a bumbling idiot, and he did indeed have his pride, so sounding stupid was not something he wanted to do.

Until he had figured out a way to do so he would simply aid Logan in his adventures and inventions, providing information and magic as best as he could, while staying low profile on the whole feelings-y side of things.

They reached the cave before long and Logan quickly shifted his ramble from his idea to Darion and his magic, wanting the demon to demonstrate illusion magic; particularly the fabled fog Logan wanted to use. Darion, being both a sucker for the positive attention and seeing Logan smile, agreed and he definitely took note of the way Logan’s eyes sparkled when he summoned a deep fog that surrounded both of them.

Darion felt blessed (no matter how ironic that phrasing may be, considering his status as a demon) to be one of the few people to see Logan like this; ecstatic, energy laden, starry-eyed and grinning widely. Similar to him, the other had a reputation to uphold and part of Logan's reputation was being stoic and serious, so this wasn’t an everyday sight to see. Darion really counted himself lucky he was part of the select few that Logan felt at ease around, which made it feel safe for him to behave the way he did right now.

When he lifted the fog again he could see Logan furiously taking notes and he wondered what the other was even writing down. Magic wasn’t really something that could be calculated or documented apart from the observed effect, and that always confused Darion about Logan’s studies in general. He appreciated the effort but he just didn’t really understand the use or the method. That, of course, didn’t stop him from supporting the other. But still, it was a question on his mind he refused to voice.

It went on like this for quite a while; Logan asking Darion to show him a trick and Darion performing said trick with ease. Logan did, eventually, try and start incorporating what Darion did into his smoke bombs with very little success. It didn’t deter the inventor though, which Darion found remarkable. He himself would never have the patience for this like Logan did.

Logan also was intrigued in the technicalities behind the tricks, not just their effect. He asked Darion about the hand movements, the pressure he was exerting, and a lot of other stuff Darion didn’t fully understand, but tried to answer to the best of his abilities. Logan was seemingly grateful that he actually bothered with trying to help.

“What would I do without you, Dee?”

Logan asked jokingly after a while, leaning back and glancing out of the cave and towards the already setting sun. Darion sat down next to him with a hum and chuckled.

“You’d be pretty lost, I predict. You can always summon me though.”

It was meant to be a joke but… was it? Darion trusted Logan, he did. And Logan having his trust meant that he knew the other wouldn’t exploit said trust or the ability to summon him. Where he had refused to tell the other when they had met, due to just not having the human figured out, he now felt like the two were at a point where Darion felt safe to share the knowledge.

“No I can’t. I don’t know how.” “Well, I can tell you if you would like to know.” “I suppose so… Wait, really?”

Darion couldn’t help but chuckle at the confusion evident in Logan’s voice. It was kind of adorable honestly. Darion just hummed and nodded, still watching the sunset.

The two of them stayed quiet after that, watching the setting sun, and the spectacle that came with it. it was quite comfortable, honestly, if you asked Darion. Logan broke the silence after a while though.

“I think I like you.” “You _think_ so? I thought you only talk in certainties, nerd.”

Despite the words, Darion’s tone was soft as he moved to look at Logan and smiled at him, gently taking the other’s hand.

“I like you too.”

Darion felt even more blessed at the smile that crept up on Logan’s face at that.  
———  
The years went by, and both their relationships were flourishing. Logan and Virgil pretty much lived with Remus and Darion at this point, spending more time with their significant others than at their homes. Not that any of them were complaining; it was great when they were together, and waking up with your boyfriend beat waking up literally any other way. 

Lately however, Virgil became a bit concerned. Remus was nervous and that was weird because Remus didn’t get nervous at all. He didn’t overthink things like Virgil did, or calculate the risks like Logan did. He just did, without regard for consequences, so he never worried about the outcome. Virgil wasn’t sure what to make of the newfound nervousness, but he didn’t like seeing his boyfriend like this. He couldn’t really remember any important dates coming up, and nothing had happened recently, so he was wondering if there was something Remus wasn’t telling him. He couldn’t really think of any other reasons for his boyfriend’s strange behavior. He couldn’t get any answers out of Darion either and it frustrated him. Why wouldn’t anyone clue him in on what was going on? He just wanted to help! After the fifth “I’m fine” from Remus he gave up, deciding he had better things to do than worry (he didn’t) and went to occupy himself by watching Logan working on some of his smoke bombs.

Unbeknownst to Virgil, there was indeed a reason why Remus was so nervous. And a reason why no one would tell his boyfriend what was going on. 

Remus had been thinking about this for a while now, but he always shoved the idea and thoughts aside. Virgil was a prince. He was a demon. It wouldn’t work. Or at least that was what he told himself. That was, until Virgil mentioned the very real fear of having to get married soon. And he knew that if _he_ didn’t marry Virgil, the other would most likely be married off to someone else. 

Of course that wasn’t the only reason he wanted to propose, just the final push to get him to actually do it. He loved Virgil, he really did. He wanted to spend his forever with him, and he was desperately hoping the other wanted that too. Remus wouldn’t know what to do if he didn’t.

He had gotten help from both Darion and Logan as to how to best go about this. He knew Logan knew Virgil better than anyone, so he knew that this would be the safest bet. And Darion knew a lot about traditions, so both of them had been of great help to him. Logan had made it clear that he shouldn’t do anything fancy, that Virgil preferred things small. However, Remus was acutely aware that he had a big problem with making things _not_ fancy. He was over the top in everything he did, so doing something on the down low was going to be difficult. The second issue was getting a ring. After a long brainstorming session with Darion he had eventually made the decision to forge one himself. Here was the issue though: He had no idea how to forge anything. That didn’t keep him from trying though. The first few tries were absolutely horrid and barely recognizable as rings. He kept getting better the longer he kept trying, though. And damn did he keep on trying for a long while. Several weeks at least. Every failure made him more nervous, because it meant he was one time waste closer to not being able to marry Virgil at all. But he kept trying. For Virgil.

When he finally managed to get the ring he decided would be perfect to propose with he almost cried out of relief, because holy shit he was finally done.

Next was thinking up a speech. Or at least write down some notes so he wouldn’t look like a total idiot when he actually got down on one knee. He ended up pouring out his entire, gay little heart into the speech. He made sure he would burn it after he was done. Couldn’t risk Darion or Logan finding it and making fun of him.

And now… well… Today was the day. The day he was going to propose.

“What if I can’t do it, Dari?” He had asked Darion after he was sure Virgil was completely out of earshot. 

Darion had to admit that seeing Remus so nervous was indeed quite a strange sight. In all the years he knew the other demon, he had never seen him so distraught and on edge, aside from possibly when the anniversary of his banishing came around. He wasn’t sure what to do with this change of pace, but he knew it wouldn’t last long luckily. He put his hand on Remus’ arm in a, hopefully, comforting way. 

“It’ll be all good, Mus, you’ll see. He’s gonna say yes, ‘cause he’s just as gay for you as you are for him.” “But… what if I mess it up?” “Won’t make him stop loving you. If that’s the bar for leaving you, then he probably would’ve left long ago.” Remus huffed.

“Wow, thanks, that makes me feel so much better.” “Sarcasms my thing, grumpy, now go. Don’t keep the man of your dreams waiting.”

Remus huffed once more but nodded. Taking a deep breath, that he didn’t actually need to take, he stood up and meandered outside, where Virgil and Logan were testing out the new and improved smoke bombs. Remus gave Logan a small look and the other knew exactly what that meant, excusing himself to Virgil before hurrying inside and to Darion, both of them not-so-secretly hiding behind the front doors, and listening in.

Virgil watched Logan leave, narrowing his eyes a little in confusion. “What’s his deal?” He asked, looking at Remus. Remus shrugged. “Probably ate something rotten!”  
Virgil huffed.

“Just like you? You’ve also been acting weird all day.” Remus’ face turned apologetic. “Sorry. There is a reason though, I promise?” “Oh yeah?”

Remus nodded quickly, grinning just a bit too nervously. He collected himself for a second, gathering all his courage before getting down on one knee and grinning up at his boyfriend, who, in turn, gasped loudly. Remus noticed that he immediately forgot all of the speech he had prepared. Well, improvising time.

“Alright, I’m sorry for being so weird all day, I was nervous! I’ve been planning this for a while now and I needed to find the perfect moment.” He took a breath. “I love you! A lot! I am pretty sure you’re the love of my life and I _know_ you don’t exactly have the best outlook on marriage and all, but I also know that I don’t want anyone but you! And I know that you might be married to someone else and then have to leave and I know you don’t want that and I don’t want that either. I want to spend my life with you and I hope you want that too. So, if you feel the same, do you want to marry me?”

Remus’ smile was hopeful and Virgil’s expression was shocked. Nonetheless, Virgil began to grin.

“You’re a fucking idiot. Of course I’ll marry you.” The look on Remus’ face could only be described as starry eyed. “You mean it?” “Of course I do.”

Remus giggled, getting up quickly to pull Virgil into a kiss. He picked the other up by his hips, spinning him around, making Virgil giggle in surprise, before resuming to kiss his boyfr- _fiancé_. 

“I love you,” Virgil mumbled against Remus’ lips. “You’re a dumbass, but I love you so much.” “I love you too. And I’m _your_ dumbass!” “You are.”

Virgil kissed him again, just melting a bit, honestly kind of overwhelmed by the whole situation. He was engaged. To Remus. And wow, wasn’t that a nice feeling? He knew that he really didn’t want to be with anyone but Remus for a while now and to have it confirmed the other felt the same was a pretty great feeling. 

Remus broke the kiss with a soft giggle. “I didn’t even show you your ring yet! I forged it myself!”

He pulled away from Virgil to reach into his pocket, pulling out a golden ring. It was simple yet elegant. If one were to look closer they would see the engraving of both their names, as well as the date the two had gotten together.

“Do you like it?” Remus asked enthusiastically, obviously waiting for Virgil to put it on.

“You forged this yourself?” Virgil asked, taking the ring and examining it. “It’s gorgeous. I love it.” He smiled at his fiancé before carefully putting it on, a little scared of dropping it honestly. He did manage without any incident, staring in wonder at his hand. It was a weird feeling but definitely a nice once. He smiled at Remus. 

“I love you.” “I love you too!”

Remus gave a hum before grinning. “Should we go tell lo and Darion? I had a lot of help from them with planning this, so I’m sure they want to know how it went!” Virgil nodded before glancing over towards the cottage doors and chuckling when he saw two heads duck back into the cottage, attempting to hide. 

“I think they already know.”


	4. Interlude

Ileana smiled softly as she observed her two ‘charges’. Wasn’t that lovely? She had watched the two over these past few years and seeing their love blossom like this truly made her happy. As was to be expected of the goddess of love of course, seeing couples happy and relationships prosper over time was her favorite thing in the world (right after her husband, of course). This relationship in particular filled her with a certain amount of pride, as it had been her and Sansemanus’ protection that really helped them out.

Speaking of her husband, she glanced around and grinned when she spotted him, waving him over quickly. Curiously, Sansemanus made his way over to her and her oracle.

“You seem excited. What is it?” “They got engaged!”

That certainly caught Sansemanus’ interest and he glanced into the oracle, smiling when he saw the human and the demon, looking excited and happy. Well, good for them, certainly. It seemed the years of protection had worked out in the end, allowing the two to even get to this point in the first place.

“Isn’t that nice to see? I am happy for them, they deserve this.”

Ileana nodded, leaning against her husband as she smiled down at the young couple. It filled her with a sense of pride.

“They do. I am glad _they_ didn’t try to interfere, that made everything a lot easier.” “Yeah, certainly. Though I’m sure they didn’t even notice. Not like they leave heaven much aside from killing people.” “Fair enough,” Sansemanus answered with a chuckle. “Whatever the reason was, it made our life a lot easier.”

Ileana nodded and gave a small hum, kissing Sansemanus’ cheek, which brought a small smile to his face. 

“Say dear, what do you suggest we do now?” “Well, my dearest husband, it’s funny that you ask! I already have a plan!”

The grin on Ileana’s face was both adorable and a tad mischievous. Sansemanus wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

“Should I be scared?”

The giggle he got in response wasn’t particularly reassuring.


	5. Forever And Ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a spell in german later through the chapter. The translation is in the notes at the end!

Virgil was planning his, hopefully, last hike back down to the palace. After his and Remus’ engagement he had talked a lot with Remus and Darion and the three had decided that it would be for the best if he moved in; both in regards to not having to make the dangerous hike every time he wanted to visit, and that he really wanted to be freed of his duties as a prince (not that he didn’t want to be around his family, but deities, he just wasn’t cut out for the royal life; the parties, the diplomatic visits, the constant attention; he could do well without that). Now, the hard part was convincing his family that this was the right choice. He didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but he really didn’t want to resume his life in the palace.

Logan accompanied him down the mountain, being faced with a much similar task. Darion had made the offer that, if Logan so pleased, he could join them in the cottage as well. Virgil didn’t miss the hopeful look on the demon’s face when he said that. Logan, being unable to deny that living with his boyfriend and best friends in a cottage in the mountains was much more desirable than being a weaver in a palace where he constantly had his parents on his case, agreed that yes, he would indeed move in as well. Now Logan just had to do the same as Virgil: convince his parents. Or, well, neither of them would do much _convincing_ , just stating facts. Their parents would not be able to stop them, they never could.

“How do you think your father will react?” Logan asked once they had passed the monks. “Do you think he’ll be sensible and just let you go, or do you think he’ll pull the overprotective parent card again and ground you for a month?” Virgil groaned. “Last time he grounded me I had guards in front of my door for a month. I’m not a child anymore, so I can just hope he’ll be sensible.” Logan nodded. “My parents will probably freak out, remember how long it took to convince them that we would be safe with the guards when traveling up the mountain?”

They reached the palace soon enough and Virgil sighed. “Wish me luck, Lo.” “Will do, do the same for me though as well, please.” With that, the two parted ways, Virgil making his way into the throne room to greet his father and Logan to the weavery, neither of them looking forward to the impending conversations.

Virgil was tackled into a hug the moment he entered the throne room, hugging the figure that decided to attack him back. “Heya Pat,” he hummed. “You’re back!” “I’m back. Not for long though.” 

Patton pulled away from the hug and crossed his arms at that, looking like he was ready to pout; it looked rather amusing considering Patton was merely a year younger than Virgil, and therefore just as much of a grown man as he was. “How long is ‘not long’?” Virgil shrugged. “I will be staying a week, maybe two, unless something goes wrong. The rest I want to discuss with all of you over dinner.”

Now, Patton wasn’t stupid. Virgil’s wording caught his interest, particularly the ‘unless something goes wrong’ part. It was suspicious to say the least, and Patton already had a good guess on what it might lead to. Virgil had been leaving a lot over the past years, each trip longer than the last one, the days he was staying in between becoming shorter and shorter, and with the talk about a potential upcoming arranged marriage, Patton was well aware that Virgil wanted to leave. Not that he could blame him, he often dreamed about life outside the palace as well. He wanted to pursue his own interests, not being kept up by royal duties and the need to be the perfect son, though he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to do that. He had already agreed to an arranged marriage (not now, he would have to wait until Virgil had gotten married) and resigned himself to the royal life. Still, it didn’t keep him from longing.

“Well, dinner is already being prepared! Remy is helping out in the kitchen and dad, well, I don’t actually know where dad is. He was _supposed_ to meet me here for a game of chess but he didn’t arrive. I heard some guards gossip about some impending doom or whatever, so I guess he’s signing some peace treaties.” He shrugged before motioning for Virgil to follow him. 

“C’mon, let’s go tell Remy you’re back. He’s gonna be happy you’re here! Even if he is still kind of pissed at you for slipping a frog in his bed before you left.” “It was a funny goodbye prank, nothing else,” Virgil answered with a giggle. He had gotten _that_ idea from Remus. He wasn’t one for pranks generally, but that one was too good to pass up.

When Virgil entered the kitchen he was almost hit in the face by a rogue flying spoonful of mashed potatoes, though he managed to duck just in time. With a huff he located the origin of the projectile, glaring at his brother. 

“Remy! Watch it!”

Remy scoffed. “You-” he pointed at Virgil with the ladle he was holding in his hand, “-owe me an apology, mister.” “Maybe so, but that doesn’t give you the right to throw food at me!” “I think it gives the right to do everything I want. I hope you enjoy poisoned peas, pumpkin.”

Virgil rolled his eyes at that and crossed his arms. “As if I’d ever eat anything you made, your cooking sucks.” He let out a small yelp when he was pulled close and given a noogie by Remy. 

“Take that back, you little shit.” “Never- Ow, stop-” Virgil huffed with a laugh, trying to push his older brother off. Remy didn’t seem to want to give up, but before Virgil knew it he was pulled into a proper hug, which he returned with a small hum. “You missed me.” “Shut up, dude, or I am actually gonna poison your food.”

Virgil pulled away after a few seconds with a hum. 

“What’d I miss? Anything interesting going on or just the same old?” “Nothin’ much, except that wedding arrangements for me are finally done.” “Which one did you pick? The one with the pretty hair?” “You _know_ I picked the one with the pretty hair. Now, both of you, dining room. Dinner’s almost ready.” “What about you? Are you gonna play kitchen staff some more or are you gonna come too?” “Virgil, I’ll need you to shut up, like, right now. For the record, I’ll come when my mashed potatoes are done.” “Oh the ones you threw at my head?” “Precisely, now fuck off, both of you.”

Virgil and Patton chuckled as Remy pretty much shoved them out of the kitchen, heading to the dining area indeed. 

“You really need to stop testing him.” “He’s our older brother, it’s sort of like our job to pester him. You can’t deny it was pretty funny.” “I’m not denying that, it was, but one day you’re gonna wake up and he’ll have redecorated your room to be all pink or something. He’s ruthless when it comes to payback.” “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll watch my back, don’t worry.”

Both brothers took a seat at the table, waiting for their father and brother to join them. As they waited, Patton informed Virgil about all the things that had happened while he was away and, oh he should have been there. Apparently one of the stable doors had been broken down and all the horses had escaped and caused a ruckus, keeping the entire palace terrified of ungulates.

Soon enough the food was brought in and Remy joined them at the table, giving a confused hum. “Dad not here yet?” At both of his brothers shaking their heads he huffed and crossed his arms. “Old man’s always late. Whatever, let’s just start without him.”

Patton bit his lip. “Maybe we should wait? It’d be rude to just start eating and he always waits if one of us is late.” “Yeah maybe, but he’s been late all week! He knows when dinner is.”

Luckily for everyone involved, the king entered the dining room before Patton and Remy could begin to argue, seemingly out of breath, having hurried to be on time.

“Sorry I’m late,” the king huffed. “Important meeting.”

His eyes fell on Virgil and he lit up at seeing his son. “Virgil! You’re here! Deities, you didn’t say you’d be coming back, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to greet you.” Virgil shook his head and smiled at his father. “It’s fine, dad, don’t worry about it.”

The king nodded, taking a seat at the table and giving a small hum. Virgil decided he would wait with his news for a little, because right now Remy was glaring at their father and Virgil figured this was not the right moment for his announcement, though he doubted there ever really _was_ a right moment to break those news. Nonetheless, he would wait.

Dinner went by without any real issues. Remy eventually stopped glaring and a nice conversation started; though it was mainly Dad and Patton talking about something or the other. Virgil wasn’t really paying attention if he was honest, too focused on finding the right words. He didn’t want to mess this up but he also needed to put his foot down on this. He bit his lip and took a deep breath before clearing his throat. Time to break the news.

“Could I get your attention? I gotta tell you something.”

He didn’t stand up or anything, he would have been way too nervous for that, but the rest of his family did turn to look at him anyway. It made him a bit uncomfortable but he knew that this was necessary. Didn’t keep him from fidgeting though.

“What’s up?” “Well…” Virgil took a deep breath. “I’m engaged. And I’m moving out.” 

There it was. Quick and painless. He knew otherwise he would never actually say what he meant to, so it was better to just get straight to the point. “You… what?” Remy asked, cocking his head in confusion. Virgil couldn’t blame him, he would have reacted the same way.

“Engaged, I’m engaged. I _know_ I never brought anyone home or told you before but there’s a reason for that. He’s not a prince, he’s not royalty, he’s just a normal guy.” That wasn’t the whole truth, but his family didn’t need to know more. “You know how I said an old couple saved me on my first hike up the mountain? Well… I lied. It was him and his friend. He’s the guy I keep visiting every time I’m gone, and, well, he’s the man I’m going to marry. I am not letting myself be married off to some stranger for some diplomatic reason, and I’m not going to stay in this palace and continue to perform some royal duties I don’t want. I’m moving out.”

Silence fell over the table and Virgil nervously fiddled with the hem of his robes. He was awaiting some form of reaction, good or bad, but the silence didn’t sit well with him. It was Patton who eventually broke the silence, putting a hand on Virgil’s shoulder and smiling at him. “I’m happy for you. Pray tell, we’ll meet your future husband though?”

His smile was encouraging and Virgil felt extremely relieved to at least have the support of one of his family members. “Yeah, duh. Wouldn’t be right if I didn’t.” He glanced over to Remy, who had a weird sort of half-smile on his face before he burst out laughing. “Of _course_ you’ve been seein’ someone all this time, it makes so much sense. Well, pumpkin, I’m happy for you. Congrats! And that you found someone you love, that’s great! ‘n duh you’re gonna move out. ‘Course you are.” Remy chuckled. “No but for real? Congrats, bro. I’m happy for you.”

Virgil felt an extremely strong wave of relief wash over him. Now all that was left was his father’s reactions and that was what scared Virgil the most. He was hoping desperately that he would be accepting and supportive, he didn’t want to go behind his father’s back, though he would if he had to. 

The waiting for an answer was agony, honestly. Virgil would have preferred to jump out of a window than to have to experience another second of his father’s silence. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt again, nervously biting his lip. He glanced up and met his father’s eyes and… he looked incredibly disappointed in him. Disappointed and sad and Virgil really felt like crying now. It was one thing for his father to be angry or disagree about anything but having him _disappointed?_ That just hurt. He felt like he had failed him and wow, that was a terrible feeling. 

He was ready to start apologizing when his father spoke and Virgil’s mouth snapped shut instantly.

“Well, if that is what you want from your life then I am not going to stop you. I’ll miss you, I certainly will, but I don’t want to keep you from living your life to the fullest.” His father smiled at him and that was the final push for Virgil to start crying. He tried to overplay it, quickly wiping at his eyes, not wanting to seem weak, though he knew he didn’t really have anything to hide from his family. But still, he had his pride and that pride included not wanting to be seen when he cried.

“Lil’ Veevee’s all grown up now!” Remy chuckled, which earned him a glare from Virgil and a laugh from Patton.

Above everything else, Virgil was relieved. Relieved that he wasn’t going to be stopped, relieved that he had an accepting family, relieved that he was going to be able to live his life with Remus, as well as Darion and, hopefully, Logan.

After dinner, Virgil and Logan met up, both bearing good news. Logan’s parents were far from enthused about the idea of their baby boy leaving them, but agreed to it nonetheless, even if only begrudgingly.

“They know I am an adult and that they can’t actually stop me,” Logan had said with a small shrug. “Doesn’t mean they didn’t try and fight my decision though.”  
———

Virgil was leaning against Remus, smiling softly as they planned their ‘wedding’. It wouldn’t be a wedding in the traditional sense. They would simply exchange their vows in private, just the two of them. Afterwards they would have a small celebration with Logan and Darion but for the actual ‘ceremony’? Just the two of them. They sat outside the cottage on the edge of the cliff, looking towards the sunset.

They didn’t have to do a lot of planning. Both of them had an idea on how they wanted this to go and their ideas were rather similar. They both also really didn’t want to wait, so they scheduled them exchanging their vows for the next day. Or rather, the next night. It would be perfect.

For all the reservations Virgil had about weddings, talk of how he never wanted to get married, how he didn’t understand even the sentiment behind it, he seemed rather excited about the idea of being wed to Remus. Because for all the bad things he had to say about weddings, most of them were just him refusing to be married off to a stranger for exclusively diplomatic purposes. Getting married out of love seemed… less like a chore and rather nice. Especially as he and Remus wouldn’t be having a grand ceremony with a million guests and duties to fulfill. It would be just the two of them, whispering their vows to each other underneath the stars. Virgil couldn’t deny that the thought brought a soft smile to his face.

Remus noticed Virgil beginning to smile and kissed his cheek. “What’s got ya smiling like that, pup?” Virgil gave a hum as he cuddled a bit into Remus. “I was thinkin’ of how funny it would be if those birds over there were secret spies.” He pointed towards a tree in the not-too-far distance where three seagulls seemed to be fighting over food. Remus giggled. “What sort of spies would they be? Oooh maybe they’re demon hunters in disguise and me ‘n Dee have to kill them! Wouldn’t that be cool?” Virgil hummed in agreement. “Show those birdbrains who’s boss.”

-

The next day came and went, mostly spent with Darion and Logan, just kind of relaxing and hanging out. Virgil was trying to not be scared of messing up later that day. Realistically he knew he didn’t have anything to worry about, but his brain didn’t get the memo, and left him rather nervous. In his mind he kept going over his vows again and again. If he did he wouldn’t have to worry about not remembering, right? Right.

As the day grew to a close, so did Virgil’s cool. He was becoming more nervous with each passing second and when Remus led him outside the cottage towards the same cliff they had been planning just yesterday he felt like he might die. Though... he was just as excited as he was terrified. He smiled at Remus as he knelt on the ground, Remus doing the same, kneeling opposite of him. With a small snap of his fingers, Remus summoned two unlit candles and placed them in between them before reaching for Virgil’s hands. He squeezed them, smiling at the other encouragingly before he began to speak.

“Virgil, you’re the love of my life. I didn’t think I was capable of falling in love before I met you but I did! And it is a greater feeling than I ever imagined! I never want to leave you, and now I won’t have to. All my life I kept getting bored of everything, I spent my time moving on. But I never got bored of you. And I know I never will.” He smiled softly. “I promise you to stay by your side, to love you, to cherish you, and to always be there for you. I will protect you and even when things get rough I’ll stay by your side! You make me complete and you light up my life.”

When Remus was done, he grabbed a match that he had summoned alongside the candles. He lit the match stick before carefully lighting the candle on Virgil’s side, smiling at his fiancé. Virgil took a deep breath before smiling back as he began to speak.

“Remus, I love you. More than anything. I had always thought I would walk my path alone, with no one to rely on but myself, but then I met you. I owe you a lot. You make me happy, happier than I have ever been before. I can say without a doubt that you’re the love of my life and I don’t want to spend a day away from you anymore. I can’t say how lucky I am to have met you. You’re the love of my life.”

He grabbed a match as well, repeating the motions Remus had done previously, lighting the other candle.

Just as the candle did, Remus lit up as well, pulling Virgil into a kiss as soon as the both candles had been lit. He was so happy. Virgil let out a surprised giggle before kissing back, pulling Remus close, guiding him away from the candles though, so neither of them would catch on fire. 

Virgil allowed himself to just relish in the moment, being held by Remus. They were married. The man kissing him was his husband. Virgil wasn’t sure he ever heard more wonderful news. “My darling husband,” Virgil mumbled against Remus’ lips. He needed to say it, to make it feel real. He felt like he was in a dream and he was scared to wake up. He wouldn’t know what to do if that was the case.

Remus giggled happily. “Husband!” He exclaimed, sounding very happy and satisfied as he said it. Virgil was glad that they shared that opinion. “I love you so much, pup!” 

Quickly Remus stood up, pulling Virgil up with him, picking him up by the waist and spinning him around happily. Virgil let out a surprised gasp before laughing. More happy, more true than he probably ever had. The kind of laugh only a select few people could get out of him and Remus had the ability to make him laugh more than anyone else.

Just for that moment it was them two, physically and metaphorically. 

It was not meant to stay that way though.

They startled apart at the sudden flash of bright light, heads whipping around to see the cause of said light. They came face to face with Ileana, goddess of love. What…?

Remus seemed much more startled and terrified than Virgil, which would be a first. Virgil had never seen his husband so horrified, looking like he was ready to flee. He wasn’t sure why, but he assumed it was because, well, there was a real life goddess standing in front of them. He looked back to Ileana who was smiling softly at the both of them, her hands held up as a peace offering,

“I’m not here to punish you. Love doesn’t discriminate between demons and humans.” She looked at Remus. “You can stop behaving like a frightened deer, I won’t hurt either of you. Quite the opposite. Me and Sansemanus came here to give you our blessings. We have been watching you two for a while, ever since your love began to blossom.”

“Y-your blessings?” Virgil asked cautiously, clinging to Remus. He didn’t want to think about how creepy it was that the gods have watched them. He refused to give too much thought to it lest he’d end up in a not too great place. Remus looked as though he had similar thoughts.

“Indeed. We want to bless you that your love shall prosper and last. Sansemanus brings the blessing that nothing bad shall happen to either of you for a long time, that your lives will be fulfilling until you have grown old.”

“Why?” “Hm?” “Why would you do this? I am a demon. He is a regular human.”

Remus didn’t trust this. He didn’t trust this at all. This had to be a scheme, some sort of ploy from heaven to make him pay for being disrespectful to his ‘parents’ all those years ago before they abandoned him and his brother. He held Virgil tight, protectively, just as he had promised him just a few minutes prior. If they really wanted to trick and punish him, he would make sure they wouldn’t get Virgil. He wouldn’t let anything happen to the other. 

Virgil could feel the danger radiating off of Remus and he really wasn’t sure what to think. There was a goddess, promising them security and safety. Giving her blessings. The goddess of love and the god of death nonetheless. Then again this all seemed so incredibly fishy. He just didn’t understand.

Ileana let out a chuckle at Remus’ question. “You don’t trust me, I can see that. I don’t blame you. Your experiences with the gods haven’t been good, and I understand. But I promise you I haven’t been sent by Wazzerus or Isturma. I don’t like them. They are imposing and full of themselves. Me and Sansemanus have been watching you ever since you almost died through that boulder, Virgil. We kept a close eye on you. I always figured you two would develop a strong bond and I am happy to say I was right. It’s not often you see a love so strong, and between a human and a demon no less.” She noticed the looks both Virgil and Remus were giving her and chuckled. “Long story short, we offer you our protection. If bad will come we will be there to interfere and offer you our aid and assistance. I shall leave you two alone now. Apologies for just crashing your wedding like this. Peace out.” With that, another flash of light appeared, almost blindingly bright, before Ileana was gone, leaving darkness that seemed undisturbed. Virgil turned to Remus.

“What the fuck was that? Did I just dream that up or- or did that really happen?”

Remus shrugged, looking rather perplexed.

“No fucking clue.”  
———

Virgil gave a nervous breath, trying to keep from pacing. Today was the day. He had promised to introduce Remus to his family. Despite their disappointment at not being invited to the wedding or even having been told Virgil was even seeing anyone in the first place, let alone something serious, they had been more than enthusiastic about meeting his husband.

Remus, even if he didn't let it show, was equally as nervous. Mostly because he wasn't sure how to explain to his in-laws that he was a demon of all things. People never took too kindly to that. He couldn't blame them, with all the horror stories (true and false) flying around, but still, it looked to be a rather impossible task to find a good way to bring up the topic. 'Hi I'm your son in law! By the way I'm also a demon,' didn't seem to be the best option. He sighed and went to seek out Virgil, who was messing around with his robes and hair, pretty much shaking with panic.

“Why are you shaking so bad, pup?” Remus asked him as he took Virgil’s hand, raising it to his mouth and pressing a kiss to Virgil’s knuckles. The other might have giggled if he'd been less tense. As it stood he just let out a sigh. 

“I’m worried,” he admitted. “What if they don’t like you? What if they, y’know, try to kill you? They don’t really take too kindly to demons, which is understandable but, what if they-”

And Virgil began to ramble. Remus let him, hoping rambling would make his husband feel better. After a while, Virgil was done, leaning forward to embrace Remus and bury his face in the other’s neck. 

“I love you,” he mumbled, voice muffled by his position. Remus ran his hand through Virgil's hair with a hum. “I love you too!”

Darion stayed behind, watching over their little cottage. He promised he’d have just _loved_ to come with them but there was simply too much to do, considering Virgil would move in soon, so he really couldn’t and he was _terribly_ sorry about it. Virgil scoffed at that but let him go with that excuse. It would probably be better if he didn’t bring _two_ demons along anyway.

The walk towards the palace was long, but not as long as Virgil had hoped it would be, because before he knew it, they stood in front of the golden gates. He was fidgeting terribly, holding Remus’ hand tightly. Moment of truth. He nodded towards the guards to open the gates and let them inside. He was praying to any deity out there that the warning sirens wouldn’t go off and that they could enter the palace without an incident. He had already told Logan to disable it, at least for a while and he hoped the other made it happen. If not he would rip his head off, that was for sure.

With bated breath they neared the palace doors, stepping underneath the magical barrier that usually would’ve alerted of any supernatural being trying to gain entrance to the palace. And… nothing happened. No sirens rang, no slayers came running, everything seemed to be fine. Virgil breathed a sigh of relief at that, squeezing Remus’ hand encouragingly. It would be fine.

Or at least it would have been, had it not been for the guard dogs. 

Loud, aggressive barks rang throughout the entrance hall, dogs trying to attack Remus and tear off his limbs. Virgil felt his breathing stop as he frantically looked around. He hoped guards would come, get the dogs away. Surely this wasn’t- His breath caught in his throat when he realized that it wasn’t guards who came, but slayers. They surrounded them, pointing their swords at Remus. One of them turned to Virgil. 

“Your majesty. Step back. This ‘man’ is a demon.”

Virgil felt his world come to a halt and he frantically looked around. “No- No wait-” He wanted to explain, tried to talk but he just couldn't. He didn’t manage to speak. No words came out and he felt like he just doomed Remus.

“That’s my husband-” he managed to choke out, but it wasn’t enough to convince anyone. Forcefully, he was grabbed and dragged away from Remus. Fighting was mostly useless, he wasn’t able to stand a chance against several guards. Not that he didn’t try. It just didn’t work. He could see Remus reach out to him before being apprehended, and Virgil cried out for him. This couldn’t be happening.

He was thrown into his room soon enough. “Apologies your majesty, but this is for your safety.” 

Before Virgil could retort, the guards closed the door and left. He growled before choking back a sob. What was he supposed to do now?! He took a few deep breaths, trying to keep from panicking. There had to be a way, right? If the slayers just put Remus into jail for the time being maybe he could set him free. The chance of that was slim, but it was the only hope he had. 

-

Remus was screaming at the top of his lungs as he was dragged off into some dingy dungeon. He was struggling against his attackers, kicking, thrashing, violently refusing to let this happen. He even tried to bite one of them, all the while spewing and spitting the most obscene and gruesome threats he could manage in hopes of scaring them into backing off.

He promised to curse all of them and their families, that he’d destroy everything they held dear, that he would destroy their _pets_ if they didn’t let him go. Reasoning with slayers was not an option, he knew that from experience. His only hope was breaking free via force or intimidating them into surrender. However neither of these tactics were working out for him and soon enough he was thrown into a cell that he could immediately tell was made out of blue salt stone. 

Without even touching the walls or the bars he could feel the weakening energy being released by the material. It didn’t keep him from trying to break free however. 

The door was shut between him but he immediately threw himself against it, trying to rattle and shake it, in any hopes of opening it, to break free. It didn’t even budge, not the tiniest bit. He kicked it, shoved it, hell, he even punched it. Everything had no effect on it, the door refused to open up for him. If that wasn’t enough, the guard mocked every failed attempt with laughter or ridiculing comments. 

“Give it up, beast. You’re going to die here. Those cells can’t be opened by the likes of you.”

Remus didn’t like to admit it but this seemed like a pretty hopeless situation. It didn’t deter him though as he cursed out the guard, effectively intimidating the other as he showed off his fangs and his eyes, almost shining as brightly as flames in the darkness of the dungeon. But even though the guard was rightfully shitting his pants, it did still not have the desired effect.

The guy seemingly estimated himself safe as long as Remus stayed in his cell and didn’t see any reason to change that. Remus vowed that this fuck would be the first one he killed once he got out. He refused to give up, but he had to admit that the prolonged exposure to blue salt stone was already getting to him, and he assumed that this was pure, crystallised salt stone that had been used. Otherwise it would be impossible for it to have such an effect on him _already_. (That was, of course, not thinking about the fact that he had already begun to tire himself out by thrashing and screaming, though Remus refused to acknowledge the possibility of such a simple task affecting him in a physical way.)

He sunk to the ground, curling up so as to not touch the walls or the bed. Both were made from the dreaded mineral, and touching either would only weaken him more. The floor was just plain old stone, which Remus was very grateful for. Why, he couldn’t say. Was it just an oversight or where the people that built this palace simply tried to be humane and not _torture_ their prisoners? He had no clue, but either way he appreciated the cold surface of the stone more than he thought he ever would. The last time he was so happy to see stone was when Roman took him for a swim in the ocean and he didn’t see solid ground for almost 5 hours. At the memory of his brother he curled up a bit more than he already had, trying not to think about the small possibility of him not getting out of here. That was simply a preposterous idea! Virgil would have him out of here in no time!

Though… he had no idea what they did to his husband. They had dragged him off to some location Remus didn’t know, kicking and thrashing, just like him. And that was the last Remus had seen of him. Was he held captive somewhere too? Locked away? ‘For his own good’? Or were they going to punish him for bringing in a demon, for even hanging around someone like him, let alone marry him. Either possibility terrified Remus. He didn’t want Virgil to have to pay for him not being careful enough. He should have been aware that slayers would be here, should have prevented a dog ever smelling him. 

He let out a loud, almost pained scream, hitting the ground with his fist and immediately hissing in pain when he remembered that this was stone. It wouldn’t leave any lasting wounds or have any negative effects, such as a break or similar, but it still hurt a fair bit. The guards mocking laughter was really the last thing he needed. On top of that he could feel himself start to grow tired, the influence of the salt stone already working its ‘magic’. Oh he hated this. He just wanted to get out of here. He wanted his husband, he _needed_ to know the other was safe.

He needed information but he refused to beg for it. He still had some dignity and he wouldn’t let these dirty humans take that from him. But maybe he could smooth talk his way to some information. He had always been good at convincing others. Sure, a bit of intimidation was involved most of the time, but maybe he could do it with just his wits. He didn’t need to know a lot, he just wanted to know if Virgil was okay. That was all that mattered to him right now. He was getting out of here, one way or another, so he was not worried about that (maybe he was, a tiny bit, but he decided to just put that tiny, nagging voice on mute as he worked his magic on the bastard guard keeping a close eye on him). He just needed the reassurance that when he eventually got out, his husband would be alive and healthy. He wanted to know how much revenge he had to get.

He sat up again, beginning to watch the guard carefully before slowly getting off the floor and putting on a smirk.

“So, Mr. Guarddude or whatever your name is,” he hummed, approaching the bars, lazily sticking his arms through and enjoying the way the guard immediately jumped back, his face making it very clear he was scared. Maybe intimidation wasn’t off the table yet. “Can you tell me something?”

“I’m not telling you anything, godless creature. I don’t see any reason for helping you out that wouldn’t lead to your escape.”

Remus rolled his eyes at that. He had anticipated that answer, of course, but did the guard really have to throw such a low insult at him as well? It really was below his standards, and that had to mean something. 

“I don’t want to know how to break out or whatever, though I definitely wouldn’t mind you sharin’ that info with me as well.” He winked at the guard, making the other flinch and defensively point his sword at the demon. “I just want to know one thing. What have they done to Virgil?”

“For your information! The prince’s current whereabouts and what procedures the guards deemed necessary to protect him are none of your business! You are absolutely not authorized to know that information!”

“You don’t know either, don’t you?”

Remus couldn’t help the small snicker at the offended but very telling expression on the guards face. Said guard let out a small huff and turned away from him, which, sadly, didn’t get Remus any closer to the knowledge he was seeking, so he needed a new plan. But, for now, he supposed, a nap might be the smartest thing he could do. The salt stone weakened him, and if he didn’t rest to at least get some physical strength back, then he really had no way to break out of here. He sighed, laying back down on the cool floor. Not that it was bothering him much, he lived on top of snowy mountains after all, though he really wouldn’t complain about being given a blanket. 

His last hope, however, was his husband coming to his rescue and it was a hope he was clinging to. Because, however determined he might be, he knew that ultimately he couldn’t really do much against his mortal enemy; the mineral straight from heaven. Then again, he wasn’t even sure if his husband was alright, but he refused to think even more about the possibility of his husband being hurt or otherwise mistreated. It filled him with rage he couldn’t let out and at the very second that was the last thing he needed. Instead he forced himself to think about nothing. It was hard, terribly so, but he had enough willpower to pull it off. Controlling your thoughts was really just a matter of who could scream the loudest after all and Remus was winning.

-

Virgil looked up when he heard the door to his room open, wondering briefly who it could be. His brothers, maybe the guards? When he saw the familiar face of his best friend he was ready to burst into tears. Logan must have noticed as he quickly made his way towards Virgil, immediately wrapping him up in a hug. Neither of them were huggers usually. Virgil didn’t do well with physical contact, and Logan wasn’t the best at picking up social cues, though this was a situation that required a hug. 

“What happened? I heard the alarms go off and Remus shouting,” Logan asked quietly, holding Virgil tightly.

“He- They found him out- They took him to the dungeons,” Virgil replied, voice incredibly unsteady. Logan gave a hum in acknowledgement, already trying to come up with a plan to free the demon. Virgil stayed quiet for a while, taking deep breaths so as to not hyperventilate. 

“We need to contact Darion,” he muttered eventually. “He can contact Roman and both of them can come help us out.” “How do we do that?” 

That was a good question. They didn’t really have messengers they could send. The only way was by foot. Virgil wasn’t sure if they had time for that. The path up to Darion and Remus’ cottage was.... quite a while. Though did they really have any other shot? Summoning Darion was out of the question. Virgil wasn’t even sure how to do that. Unless…. Logan might know. Darion might have told him.

“Lo, did… did Darion tell you how to summon him?” At the question, Logan’s face lit up and he nodded quickly. “Yeah. That is our only shot, I think. We can’t be sure if they want to execute Remus, and if one of us has to walk up the mountain then we might risk everything.” 

Virgil nodded, feeling his mouth go dry at the possibility of Remus being executed. “We need to summon Darion,” Virgil mumbled, and Logan nodded in agreement, though neither of them made any attempt to pull back. Simply sat there for a little, together. 

After a little they broke apart and Virgil sighed. “You know how to do it, right? Darion never told me and Remus had no idea how it works either.” His laugh was bitter. Logan simply gave a hum and nodded. “He told me when we got together. It’s for emergencies only and I do think this qualifies as an emergency.” Virgil nodded in agreement.

“What do we need?” Virgil asked as he got up, already packing a bag. They would have to hike to Sneana’s altar, he knew that much.

“Once we are at the altar we need to cite a few passages of Sneana’s scripture. Specifically the one about being ever present. Then the summoning verse, and a sacrifice of something dear to us, that holds a connection to him. I suppose what it is is up to either of us.” Virgil nodded. “Didn’t he give you a bracelet? What about that?” 

Logan seemed hesitant at that before nodding. This was more important than some bracelet. And if he really wanted one, he knew Darion could just make a new one for him.

“That sounds like a good idea. It was made by him, so it has that connection already, and it is very dear to me.”

Virgil shouldered his bag after packing the lexicon of scriptures. “Alright, we need a plan. We need to get out of here without anyone realizing we have left. Do you still have some smoke bombs?” “Indeed I do. They work even better now, thanks to Darion. He taught me a few tricks.” Virgil smirked. “Neat. Go grab some and then let’s go. We don’t have time.”

-

Sneana’s altar was close to the mountains, together with Iberegha’s and Isturma’s. The three goddesses had similar domains, and generally worked together as a team, which was why the temples were built as one, each goddesses shrines having their own part inside.

Virgil didn’t go here a lot. He had considered praying before climbing up the mountain for the first time, though he decided against it. Now he was rather glad he did. He might not have ever met Remus if he did. And now? Well, knowing that Isturma and Sneana were not as merciful and kind as he had always assumed made that train of thought turn sour quickly, and he swore himself to never pray to them again.

It seemed the temple was generally not very well visited. The monks and priests were the only ones, really. The few travellers that came around here generally prayed to Wazzerus instead, making their way across by ferry. Outside the temple, Iberegha’s sacrificial gardens were located, which the monks had dedicated their life to tending and keeping alive, lest they’d be hit by the unbridled fury of one very angry mountain goddess. Virgil never understood why anyone would do this voluntarily if one withered plant could cost you your life. 

“This place looks haunted,” Virgil mumbled as they entered the temple. “Looks more like ruins than anything. I thought those priests would keep it in top form, but they’ve been slacking off.” “Nobody really goes here, so I suppose no one sees it important enough to maintain it.” “Sounds like a terrible idea considering Iberegha will smite someone simply for reaping a berry too early.” Logan jabbed Virgil in the side. “We are in a temple. Don’t run your mouth.” Virgil rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes sir. C’mon, let’s go find Sneana’s.”

Turns out Sneana’s was at the far end of the temple, almost hidden behind some pillars that looked like they would not hold the roof for very much longer. Virgil would definitely be glad when they were done so he wouldn’t have to worry about the roof caving in on them. This was the last thing he needed right now.

Virgil knelt on the ground, pulling out the lexicon and the summoning notes. Those were the same for every demon, Remus had told him. Some German that he barely understood. He knew Logan spoke it to some extent, enough to finish the summoning rite at least. Virgil opened the lexicon to Sneana’s scriptures, finding the one they would need for this summoning rather quickly.

“Okay, are you ready? Put the bracelet on the shrine. I’ll read the scripture and you’ll recite the summoning spell afterwards, okay?” 

Virgil watched Logan nod and place the bracelet where Virgil had told him to, taking a deep breath before he began reading.

“‘Forever with you I will be, ever here to bring you the cold and the snow and to mercifully and righteously rule over my subjects and my domain, offering prosperity to your winterborne crops and health even in the toughest of times. May my winters never bring you pain, and may they nay cause you harm. And as shall my beautiful winters come with the gift of snow, you shall come bringing me the gift of everlasting devotion. Only then will my coldest days fill you with warmth. I shall be present wherever you go, watching over my followers and guiding them with kindness. That is the promise that I, Sneana, Goddess of the cold and ice, give to you.’”

Once Virgil was finished, Logan began to speak.

_”Hiermit beschwöre ich dich, Dämon. So komme zu uns, bei der Kraft die mir als sterblicher von den Göttern verliehen. Ich bringe dir eine Opfergabe, eine Gabe so wertvoll für mich dass es mich schmerzt mich von ihr zu lösen. Mit dieser möchte ich dir meine Unterwürfigkeit und Aufrichtigkeit zeigen. So bitte komme, Darion, und erfüll mir einen Wunsch.”_

Mist filled the room as Logan spoke, getting thicker with each spoken word. Virgil had to admit he understood none of it, though he supposed it was working. When he heard Logan finish he could see a glowing figure throughout the fog, levitating over the altar. As it cleared he lit up when he realized it was Darion. Said demon looked rather confused about having been summoned. 

“Something the matter? Where is Remus?” “That’s exactly why we summoned you. We need your help,” Logan began, voice a tad less composed than when he read the incantation. “Remus was captured. We need you to contact Roman. We would have made the hike but that would have simply taken too long. I apologize for summoning you, but you have said it was for emergencies, and this is certainly an emergency.”

Darion’s eyes widened. “Remus was captured?! Is he okay?” Virgil nodded. “For the time being he is alive. The guards don’t let anyone inside the dungeons though and there are simply too many for us to just do something. Please get Roman. At least for a distraction.” “I will, you can count on me.”  
———

Roman approached the palace with a snarl, ready to bust his brother out of jail and to fight anyone that got in his way. Typically he wasn't a fighter, far from it. Violence wasn’t his way, but when it came to his brother he saw red. No matter what, he and Remus always had each other’s back and Roman wasn’t about to change that now.

A few guards stood outside the castle, looking ready to strike. Roman had already spotted them from afar and he was wondering if it was because they feared another demon infiltrating the palace. Well, whether or not that was what they were anticipating it was what they were getting. He growled as he pushed past the guards, shutting down any of their attempts to stop him. He didn’t have time for this. One of the guards threatened to shoot him and Roman had to turn around and laugh in his face. 

“Do it, shoot me. See if it’s going to do you any favors. Your puny weapons aren’t going to hurt me, and you would be better off just letting me pass without causing a fuss.” He layered his voice as he spoke, tone dropping immediately. 

Most of the guards seemed intimidated enough by his act, though one was particularly brave and aimed his weapon right at Roman’s head. “Answer immediately! Who are you and what business do you have disturbing the royal palace? I have orders to shoot anyone that tries to infiltrate so if your life is dear to you I would answer!” 

Roman raised an eyebrow at that, glancing between the barrel of the gun and the face of the guard. The other didn’t seem scared, holding the gun straight. He noticed the other guards were trembling and briefly Roman wondered if those men were really the best this kingdom had to offer. If that was the case then the palace was incredibly unsafe, he mused. “You aren’t going to hurt me with that,” Roman said, tone mostly deadpan. He was steadily reaching his limit with these guards and he really didn’t have time to explain to them the exact ways he was bulletproof. Not that braveheart over here seemed particularly interested in hearing it anyway. 

“Did you not hear? I’ll blast your brains out! Answer me!” 

Roman scoffed. “I’m here to break my brother out of the dungeon. Now, will you let me pass without a fight or are you truly itching to try out that toy of yours? Be my guest if you, I suppose, but like I stated already it won’t do anything.”

The guard didn’t seem to care about that, firing off the gun and watching in horror as it went right through Roman’s head without so much as wounding the other. The shock was enough to make him drop the gun and tumble a few steps backwards. 

“What- what are you?!” “A demon. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a brother to save.” 

Without waiting for a warning Roman turned on his heel and made his way towards the main entrance, already noticing a lot more guards that must have either been alerted by the gunshot, or had already been stationed just in case the first few guards were incompetent enough to let someone through which, in this case, they were. He hadn’t _expected_ this to be easy, but it would have been nice if it were. His intention wasn’t to actually hurt anyone. All he wanted was to free Remus and then be on his merry way, but sadly this entire staff seemed to have other plans. The guards blocked his path, pointing their weapons at him, similar to how the lone brave guy from before had done. ‘At least these ones take their job seriously,’ Roman mused quietly, crossing his arms as he faced them.

“Let me through.” “State your name and purpose or prepare to be killed!” “Roman, demon, here to save my brother.” He rolled his eyes at the collective gasps that came from the guards. “I don’t want to hurt you, I just want my brother. Will you free him without a fight or are you going to make this harder than it needs to be?” “Filthy, godless creature, you will not get inside the castle!”

Without warning one guard shot, then two, then three. Roman stood there, letting them waste all of their ammo on him, and then watched the horror dawning on all of them when they realized he didn’t even have a single scratch.

“Are you done? Can I go now?” “What foul magic are you using, creature of hell?” Roman rubbed the bridge of his nose in agitation and sighed heavily. “None. Demons are part god so we can’t be hurt by regular human weapons. Now let me in before I make you.” “We won’t let you pass, foul beast!” “Are you done insulting me now?”

Roman was honestly rather lucky the palace decided it would be a good idea to have several ponds surrounding the castle. It amplified his powers and gave him more ways to attack and take down the guards. When said guards refused to get out of the way he sighed before making the water from the pond slowly rise up. With a flick of his wrist, the water acted as a projectile, quickly knocking the guards back and over, giving Roman room to do as he pleases. With a sigh he lowered his hand before entering the palace, not even sparing another glance to the fallen guards.

He was prepared to fight more, anticipating more guards to be roaming the halls, maybe guard the throne room but no such distractions. “This castle really has no idea how to properly guard anything. How did Remus ever get captured by these buffoons?” he muttered, making his way towards two giant doors which led to, what he could only assume, was the throne room. He was about to open the doors and enter when he was stopped, pushed into a side hallway by a figure. 

“Unhand me-” he began, being immediately stopped by a hand over his mouth. “Shh, Roman, it’s me,” Virgil hissed, glancing around. “Could you at least try to be less suspicious?” “I knocked over all the guards you guys have, I don’t think there is anyone I have to fear.” Virgil huffed and massaged his temples. “The throne room as well as several parts of this castle are littered with slayers. You need to be careful! You can’t just waltz into the _throne room_ without so much as a plan! You’ll get thrown into the dungeon, just like Remus! Be careful, fucking hell!” 

Roman huffed as well, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, do you have a plan?” “Yes, actually. Remus is, as I just said, held down in the dungeons so we need to get down there. There’s slayers down there guarding him, so we need to distract them. Logan gave me some smoke bombs but I don’t think it will be enough, but together there’s a chance.” Roman nodded along. 

“Alright, and how do you suggest we go about that, crapehanger?” Virgil decided to pretend he didn’t hear that nickname.

“Here’s the plan: You will throw a smoke bomb and I will scream. That will alert at least one of the guards because I am one of the princes, which will force them to investigate what’s happening and make sure I am not in any danger. If we time this right I can get both guards to come up by saying I saw a demon -you in this case-, infiltrating the castle and knocking out all the guards. Knowing these guards, and I know them well, they’re all stupid, they’ll go after ‘you’ which gives us time to let Remus out.” “That’s the best you got?” “Unless you got something better?” Roman smirked at that. “I thought you’d never ask. I have a foolproof plan my dear Virgil.”

To accentuate his, supposedly, _brilliant_ plan Roman made a gesture that was absolutely over the top and made Virgil want to smack Roman for simply thinking about doing it. 

"I will distract the guards, you free Remus. Easy as that." "Why is that any better?" "Because I can ensure all guards will come." He winked and Virgil narrowed his eyes in confusion.

Before Virgil could ask how, Roman had already stepped out of the shadows, and, with a snap of his fingers, he transformed into a creature much similar to a mix of a classic dragon and a sea serpent. His body was elongated, fiery red scales with icy blue accents shining brightly in the light of the palace. Big, curved horns and glowing red eyes making him seem so much more threatening. And his wings… a large wingspan, spiky at the top. It was impressive to say the least and Virgil had to admit that he certainly did not see that coming. That was pretty cool.

Roman could see Virgil being impressed and smirked a little but quickly got back on track. He could be smug about this later. “Alright, throw your smoke bomb and yell, and when the guards come running up, you go and free Remus.” “You think this will work? You are a way easier target now…” Roman chuckled and nodded. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Go rescue your husband.”

Virgil hesitated for a second before nodding, grabbing one of the smoke bombs Logan had given him, making his way over to the stairs that led down to the dungeon, Roman following him. He took a deep breath before throwing the bomb and screaming as loud as he could. As predicted guards came rushing up from the dungeon, from the outside, from the throne room and anywhere else some might have been patrolling. Roman glanced around, giving Virgil a small nod before taking that as his cue to leave the castle to keep the attention. Adjusting his size, he fled through a window and flew up to the roof of the palace. This would keep the guards occupied for long enough. And indeed, all guards rushed outside to catch Roman, giving Virgil the freedom to sneak down into the dungeon and free his husband. He just had to pray to whoever god might be willing to listen to him that no guard stayed behind.

He was careful, quiet, as he descended the stairs, peeking around the corner and giving a relieved sigh when he realized that no one had stayed behind, giving him free rein to release Remus. Quickly he made his way to the cell he figured Remus was held; they only had one cell made out of blue salt stone, and he assumed the guards were smart enough to bring Remus there. And true enough, that’s where he found Remus.

The demon lit up when he noticed Virgil, immediately reaching out for him. “Scarecrow!” Virgil smiled at him before looking around, trying to see if one of those guards was as stupid as predicted and left a key lying around somewhere. “Did you come to bust me out?” Remus hummed, sticking his head through the cell bars. “I certainly hope you did because let me tell you, this is the worst! I hate it here! Your family really isn’t welcoming!” Virgil just nodded, a little too distracted to actually listen. He let out a quiet victory noise when he spotted a discarded keyring on the ground. With a little luck this was exactly the one he needed.

He tried pretty much every key on the ring, and his hope was slowly deflating. He was nearing the last key steadily and with each one that didn’t fit, Virgil felt himself get more nervous. Had he been paying a little more attention to Remus in that very moment, he’d see that the other was slowly beginning to become nervous as well. One of these keys _had_ to be the one, right? Then they both heard that fateful click, Virgil quickly taking off the lock from the door and opening it. Almost immediately afterwards he was wrapped into a tight hug, which he reciprocated quickly with a shaky laugh. 

Remus giggled happily. “You did it, Virgie! I’m free!” He kissed his husband’s cheek, making Virgil chuckle a little before he turned serious again. “Couldn’t have done it alone. Now we need to make sure Roman’s okay.” “Wait, Roman’s here?” Virgil nodded. “We got his help because I knew that he’d be of use to free you and, well, he was. Now I need to make sure he knows that he can leave.”

He pulled away from the hug to grab Remus’ hand, quickly dragging him up the stairs and hesitating before pulling towards a back exit; one he knew not a lot of people ever went through, and it was their best bet to get outside undetected. If Roman even was there still, though Virgil figured he had to be, otherwise the guards would have returned to their positions already. What he actually found outside was not something he had expected. The castle was… not in a good shape. Neither the guards nor his father, who had by now joined the guards outside to fight the ‘vile beast’, learned anything from Roman being unable to be harmed by normal weapons. The roof was broken on certain parts, the tower Roman was sitting on top was beginning to crumble, and windows were smashed in. Around the castle lay, presumably, corpses and bodies of guards. Some were hurt, limping around. Virgil couldn’t tell whether it was because Roman had fought back or if it was because their attacks backfired. Either way, this battle was a giant loss for the palace.

“They… really aren’t smart,” Remus mumbled, watching the spectacle, more amused than anything else. 

That, however, changed in an instant. It happened incredibly fast, Virgil could only guess what happened. A spear, looking like any other, was launched up to where Roman was, striking him right in the back. Had it just been a normal spear it would have been fine. But it wasn’t a spear like any other. Virgil guessed it was laced with salt stone dust, because the next thing he knew Roman fell from the tower, plummeting down.

Remus wasn’t sure what came over him, but before he could even really think he had already jumped out from where he and Virgil had been hiding to fly up and save Roman. He caught his brother mid-air, slowly bringing him down. Before he knew it, however, he had been captured again. He and Roman both actually. A net wrapped itself over them, and Remus could feel his power dwindling.

“Do you have anything that _isn’t_ made from salt stone?” Remus hissed, glaring at the guards that were rapidly approaching the twins. “Of course not, how would we capture you otherwise?” one of the guards, Roman, in his barely conscious state, remembered him as the brave one from earlier, said. “I will take great pleasure in executing both of you.”

He made an attempt to get closer to the two, presumably to grab them and drag them back down to the dungeon, though he was stopped. A bright flash of light caused him to cover his eyes. The blinding light was followed by an ear-shattering roar, and nobody really knew what was going on anymore. When Virgil opened his eyes again, there they were; Ileana and, who he could only assume to be Sansemanus. 

“Stop,” Ileana spoke, in a voice that didn’t tolerate any defiance. “These two demons are under our protection. They are not to be hurt under any circumstance, unless you would like to fear our wrath.” Her voice was loud, booming, commanding fear and submissiveness. The guards, those who weren’t dead or injured, immediately moved to kneel and bow.

“Here is what you are going to do,” Sansemanus began, voice deep and strict, leaving no room for arguments. “You will let them free. If they so please they will be your guest in this palace. You will make it up to them or you will lose a lot more than a few soldiers, do you understand?”

Virgil used the momentary distraction to sneak over to Remus and Roman, removing the net and freeing the twins once more. Worriedly he glanced at Roman. “Are you okay, dude? That spear hit you right in the back…” 

Roman just chuckled, though it did sound more pained than anything else, and nodded. “It takes a bit more than some spear to take me down. It’s just a small injury don’t worry about me.” He looked over to Remus, grinning a little at his brother. “How does freedom taste?” “Just like a Durian!” Roman blinked in confusion before shaking his head. “I’m not even gonna ask.” Remus chuckled at that before reaching out for Virgil and pulling him close. “We gotta get out of jail free card, hm?” he giggled and Virgil couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Suppose so, yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation of the german spell:  
> "I summon you, demon. Join us, through the power that I, as a mortal, have been granted by the gods. I bring you a sacrifice, a gift so precious to me it pains me to give it up. With this I want to show you my submissiveness and sincerity. So please come, Darion, and grant me my wish."


	6. Epilogue

After that incident, it was a while until Virgil felt compelled to pay the castle a visit again.

When he did he was alone, Remus refusing to ever set foot near the palace. Virgil couldn’t blame him, he probably would have done the same if he were in his situation. He did stay in touch with his family however, inviting Remy and Patton over sometimes, sending letters to them, and indeed visiting the castle again after he had worked through the whole shock of what happened and found a way to cope with it.

Their father had, sadly, passed away a few years ago, which made Patton the new king, considering that Remy was ruling a different kingdom due to his marriage and Virgil had given up the throne willingly. Patton wasn’t the sole ruler however.

Contrary to Remus, Roman had stayed in the palace, mainly because his injuries made it difficult to go back home. Even if it was only a spear, the fact that it was infused with salt stone made it near impossible for the wound to heal quickly, even after the majority of the salt stone had been extracted. He had been in luck, however, as Patton was a practiced healer. One thing led to another, and soon he would discover, he was having really strange feelings for Patton. Well, not really all that strange, though the beginning of their love was quite an interesting story.

It wasn’t that neither of them were completely inexperienced with relationships, definitely not. Patton had had a few relationships before, despite his father advising against it. He should be careful, a lot of people were just after his status and were only looking to take advantage of him. Patton, just like both of his older brothers, never particularly listened to his father on that front. Not that the king ever found out, he was good enough at keeping secrets. Though considering how unobservant their father was sometimes it really wasn’t that big of a surprise. It was a big palace after all and there were lots of ways to excuse absence or sneak around without being noticed.

For Roman, well.... he didn’t have quite as many relationships as Patton. There weren’t really a lot of viable suitors when you are a demon living in a lake. The few demons that came around went as quickly as they arrived and the one that Roman lost his heart to had just taken it with him when the visit was over. So, while he had certainly dated before it really wasn’t sizable enough to make those feelings he had an easy feat to deal with.

He wasn’t ashamed of his feelings or anything but… it was still rather weird, especially considering Patton was a human. And yeah, he had seen from both his brother’s and Darion’s relationships that it wasn’t something that was off-limits he just really didn’t know how to deal with it, especially with his very limited knowledge of dating. He was intending to act on his feelings though! He had read quite a few romance novels in his time, so he had all the theoretical knowledge he needed, he just had to find a way to put all of it into reality, and make a plan that was both plausible and impeccable.

Said plan consisted of trying to impress Patton until he could eventually very romantically declare his love to the other, in a way that would certainly honor a prince. The only problem was that he really didn’t have much of a clue on how to do that. Oh well, improvising was something he was also rather good at, so that would have to do.

The impressing part certainly went a lot smoother than the declaring his love part.

He was privy of quite a lot of magic tricks, ranging from small jest to impressive spectacle, and boy, did Patton love to see him do them. He had eventually settled on making a sort of performance for Patton, putting on a show for the other to display every trick in his repertoire. The attention and admiration it brought him boosted his ego quite a bit, and the other inhabitants of the palace quickly took note of his powers as well, asking him to perform for them too. Well, who was Roman to deny a fan? So he… adapted his show.

However, Patton quickly knew everything he could do with his magic so Roman decided that he needed to find more ways to impress the other as well. Those ways came in the form of manual labor and other physical work. Surely the other would be blown away by his strength! As a demon he was naturally stronger than any of the humans that worked in the palace and therefore, with his help, he made life quite a bit easier for everyone involved, even if that wasn’t really his original plan. Accidentally helping people had sort of become his thing since living in the palace, which might have been a reason he was allowed to stay in the first place if he was being honest. Not that he _wouldn’t_ help people usually, of course, it was just something he hadn’t actively been aiming to do, but still, it seemed to come almost naturally to him, and he had to admit that making people happy was a rather nice feeling.

He just wasn’t sure if any of it had the desired effect of impressing Patton. He had not expected to be stressing about this as much as he was, but while Patton was always smiling at him and seemed happy to talk to him he wasn’t sure if Patton thought of him as _cool._ And if Patton didn’t think that he was cool, then what even was the point?

He just had to try harder! Surely that would make Patton like him! Be kind, be strong! And then he would confess his love! How? He wasn’t quite sure yet but he would do it.

Little did he know that Patton was trying to work out the same thing.

The prince wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but he found himself having fallen face first for the handsome demon. The other was so lovely. He was kind, he was funny, he was strong, and he could turn himself into a _dragon!_ How cool was that? Incredibly cool, that’s how cool that was.

The only issue was that Patton really had no clue on how to go about it. He generally wasn’t the one desiring the people, he was the one being desired (whether he wanted to be or not), so this was mostly new territory. Even with the boyfriends he had, they had really been the ones that wooed him and not the other way around. However, just because he hadn’t done so before didn’t mean that he should never do so, and he felt that this was the time to turn this around.

He had decided to enlist the help of his brothers. After all, Remy was pretty good with guys and Virgil probably had some inside info on Roman, considering he was married to his brother and all. Also he was just married in general, which meant he could probably help Patton either way.

After getting his siblings’ advice on the whole situation, which ranged from “maybe a date” to “draw him a picture”, he was still not a step closer to actually figuring out what to do.

He decided to just wing it.

Contrary to what other people might think, he wasn’t oblivious or naive, and he was also very aware of Roman trying to gain his attention and affection, as well as the other’s attempts at impressing him. Roman was a lot of things, but subtle was not one of them. Not that Patton minded, he really found it adorable. Plus it helped give him courage to actually make a move, knowing the other was interested in him as well.

His plan had been to take Roman out on a walk, and go stargazing together afterwards. That was romantic, right? Remy told him so at least, and he trusted his brother to know what he was talking about, because Patton sure didn’t. But even if it turned out this wasn’t a traditionally ‘romantic’ date idea, it was still a fun one. Stargazing was one of Patton’s favorite things to do; the sky was so beautiful at night, and he was excited to share that activity with Roman.

After he decided on what to do (and maybe getting the advice of his brothers once more, he really was scared of messing this up) he took a few days to gather the courage to actually ask Roman out. It made him more nervous than he’d like to admit but he figured that might just be normal. It was a scary thing, to just put your feelings out there for someone and make yourself be open to rejection. On second thought he might be _less_ nervous than was appropriate, all things considered. Then again he was very certain Roman liked him back.

Roman had said yes to the date, or, well, hangout. That’s what Patton had said, because he chickened out a little, but date was absolutely implied, he promised!

It went incredibly well. They had spent all day cracking jokes and laughing, and Patton was sure that Roman’s laugh might be one of the loveliest sounds he ever heard and wow, he really wanted to hear more of it. As a connoisseur of bad puns, which generally were something that made Roman laugh the most, he was certain he could achieve that.

Slowly the day was drawing to a close; the sun was setting and the first stars could be seen adorning the sky. And the more stars appeared, the closer Patton got to confessing his love. And with that his nervousness grew. He had not anticipated that his nerves would catch up with him at the end of the day, but he refused to let them influence this and make him possibly not confess at all. He wanted to make his love clear and he wanted to do it tonight. Waiting longer would drive him away from confessing even more, and it would also contribute to his heartache. And, of course, he really wanted to be with Roman, something he simply couldn’t do if he kept quiet. So, his mind was set, and when the sun had set completely, he led Roman to his favorite spot in the courtyard. It gave a clear view of the sky, no trees or anything nearby to obstruct anything. Just a straight, wide view of the spectacle that was the stars, the constellations and the comets as they passed and- honestly, it was just beautiful and Patton didn’t really understand most of it. He had learned most of those terms from Logan. When he was younger he hung out with him and Virgil a lot, and Logan taught him everything he knew about the stars. Not a lot stayed with Patton, aside from the knowledge that this was his favorite thing to do.

From the look on Roman’s face he assumed the other enjoyed it too. Roman was incredibly _starry-eyed_ (Patton was pretty proud of that one) as he watched the stars, beaming widely, and Patton felt his heart melt as he watched him. Oh, he really loved the other so much. He tore his eyes off Roman after a little so as to not seem creepy or suspicious, looking back up at the sky and smiling a little as he tried to go over the plan in his head once more. Once he was certain he reached out to brush his hands against Roman’s. (Remy had told him that this was the pinnacle of romance, and Patton believed him. his brother was smart.)

Patton was honestly surprised when he felt Roman _take his hand._ He wasn’t expecting that. According to Remy he should have been the one doing the hand-taking, so this was not what he had prepared himself for. Not that he was complaining, of course, but he was incredibly unprepared for this whole thing now. Well, okay, he wasn’t all that prepared to begin with, but still. He was preparing to speak when he was surprised once more, certainly in a good way though.

_“I really like you.”_

Patton had not been expecting to hear Roman say it first and he was a little at a loss for what to reply. He stayed quiet for a little while due to that before smiling, still looking up into the sky.

_”I really like you too.”_

That was the starting point in their relationship and, after a few years of being together, Patton took Roman to be his husband, ruling over the kingdom once Patton’s father had passed.

A demon being the prince consort now caused the kingdom to face a few changes in laws and rules. 

Patton had been planning to repeal a lot of laws once he became king. He knew neither Remy nor Virgil would be viable for the throne, which was why he had been making plans for years. And when the moment came, one of his first orders was to abolish the concept of slayers and the dungeons; which meant that demons would not be hunted as soon as they were spotted. Roman had promised that, while demons can or might humans, they do not go out of their way to do so in most cases, and have their eyes set on heaven instead, as a sort of revenge. They generally never pursue their grudges or succeed, due to being terribly outclassed, but it meant that humans didn’t have anything to worry about if they didn’t seek them out.

While a foreseeable decision it brought the kingdom a short burst of unrest and fear, but, as the prince of consort was indeed a demon, and a demon that was famously known by the palace to be helpful and kind, the period of fear was over soon enough.

Another law Patton abolished was the need for the future heir to be related to the royal family. This law was mainly made because the royal advisors had been on Patton’s back about how he and Roman would not be able to have children which meant there would be no heir, and therefore he should marry someone else instead. Patton, obviously, refused and, after a lot of arguing with his advisors and the court the decision was made.

The law now dictates that, while the heir still has to be the child of the royal couple, the child could be adopted as well. As long as there was a relation of some sort to the royal family they were viable to inherit the throne and rule the kingdom once their parents had passed.

That brought the issue of Patton and Roman having to find an heir still, though as fate would have it (and having relations with the goddess of life), they had been blessed with a baby the servants had found being placed on the doorstep of the palace. Patton and Roman were ecstatic, having hoped to adopt a child to care for soon. They named him Lionel, happy to raise a child. Virgil and Remus, who had been wishing for a similar thing, were granted a child as well, a daughter they named Miriam. 

After deciding that the mountains were no location to raise a child, the young family along with Logan and Darion moved into the palace. And, by being family by either extent or literally being part of the royal family in the case of Virgil, they were bestowed royal titles. Virgil, as the blood relative of the prince took on the title of duke, making both him and Remus the dukes that ruled over the land of where they came from; more specifically the mountains, the valley, and the oceans. Logan and Darion were awarded the title of Earl, which brought Logan’s family up as well, and, while they now had a set home and status, had stuck to their jobs, reasoning that it brought them happiness and joy. Logan had to admit he found that rather lovely and decided to go back to helping his family, especially as they were starting to get older. Darion, a loving husband and dutiful son-in-law, decided to help out as well.

All in all, it was a good life.

The kingdom was flourishing and its subjects were happy. Peace was restored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! That's it! Several months of work and it's finally published! I am super excited about this and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it! I'd really love to hear your feedback on this, and please go check out my artist, @vdkstar on tumblr! They did some wonderful art for this story!


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